A Storm just came
by V.Johnes
Summary: When Hotch gets arrested Emily comes back to the states earlier than she expected to help the team prove his innocence. Full summary on Chapter 1
1. Prologue

**A/N: AU story of how I'd wish the finale to go.**

Emily and Hotch got married after 04x06 in Vegas, they decided that they should give it a try and stay married see where it goes, they stayed together till Foyet's attack, when Hotch decided to end it because he didn't want to make her a target.

They got back together after episode "Exit Wounds" and tried again, when Doyle almost killed Emily, Hotch thought that Emily didn't trust him enough, and probably didn't love him as much as he did, since she didn't tell him about it and throws their wedding bands on the floor, JJ gets them and gives them back to Emily when they fly to Paris (6x18).

Although he regrets this and plans on talking to Emily when she comes back, he doesn't when she acts as if nothing happened. In the meantime he meets Beth and decides to give their relationship a try after he hears JJ and Emily talk about a date she had. He still tells Beth that although he is separated he is not divorced and doesn't plan on asking for one, not yet at least.

Emily leaves for London, and although Hotch realizes that his relationship with Beth is just a rebound he doesn't end it because he doesn't want to be alone, and because it takes his mind away from his second failed marriage.

When Strauss dies (season 8 finale) Emily comes back to the states but no one in the team knows, she goes to Rossi's cabin and they talk. She tells him about everything that happened with Aaron in the last four years, from the moment they started dating (after "The Angel Maker" 4x2) since today and gives him an envelope with the divorce papers and a letter for Aaron. She asks him to give them to him because she can't face him and still go through with it but also doesn't want to have the papers served to him at work like Haley did. Dave promises that he will give them to Aaron, but waits will much later to do so.

When Hotch is in the hospital for the internal bleeding (9x5 "Route 66") Penelope calls Emily who is in the next flight over, she goes to the hospital but when she sees Beth there she leaves, on her way out of the hospital Dave spots her leaving and sees that she looks like crying and gets mad. He drives home and gets the envelope with the divorce papers which he still didn't give to Hotch and drives back. He finds Beth there and asks her to give them some time because he has something important to tell to his friend. She leaves them alone and Hotch asks him what happened angrily, Dave (whose been trying to get Hotch to talk to Emily and give their relationship another try because he knows they both love each other to death) throws the envelope on his bed and tells him that he is an idiot and that this time he really screw it up.

Beth comes back in the room as soon as Dave leaves, but Hotch doesn't tell her about the file lying that it's about the case. Later (around episode 9x10) Beth finds the papers on his desk at home and they get into a fight, she asks Hotch why he didn't sign the papers if he loves her and he does it out of anger, she tells him that if he did he wouldn't have needed her to tell him to sign them and she tells him that she had an offer from Hong Kong, and although she didn't plan on taking it she will because apparently she has nothing to keep her in the states.

Hotch doesn't t file the papers and decides to talk to Emily and find out if she really wants this or not, but as many times as he calls her the phone goes on voicemail and his emails go unnoticed, before "200" he finds a letter in the file with the papers, from Emily in which she apologizes for not facing him and tells him that she will always love him because e he is the love of her life although she is not the love of his. He decides to call her again but before he does so, JJ gets abducted.

After they find JJ and Cruz, Hotch tells Emily that they need to talk, so they go to his office and he tells her that he doesn't want to get a divorce from her, because she was wrong, she is the love of his life. He rips the papers in front of her and tells her that he is not going to go through with it, although at first he thought of doing it because that's what she wanted, so if she really wants to get a divorce she should get another batch of the papers but he wasn't going to sign tells him that she isn't coming back and he tells her that he is still willing to give it a try and maybe they can go slow this time, try rebuild a relationship and forget all about their marriage, fix their relationship first.

They keep it secret from the team that they are back together (except Dave, because Dave knows! 10x10) till "Nelson's Sparrow" when Emily comes back for Gideon's funeral and the team has a get together at Rossi's to talk about the memories they had with him. Emily and Hotch manage to work everything out perfectly in the end but Emily still refuses to come back, but tells Hotch to keep asking her because one day she'll say yes. It's like their ongoing thing, every time he sees her he asks her if she's ready to come home yet and every time she says "no".

At Derek and Savannah's wedding she tells him "Maybe" and in "Tribute" she tells him "Yes." After the episode Emily goes back to London to resign and settle her affairs and Hotch works things out with Cruz about her return to the BAU.

 **That's the back story (if you'd like to see any of it as a story please let me know!), so when Hotch gets arrested Emily comes back to the states earlier than she expected to help the team prove his innocence.**


	2. This can't be happening

**Chapter 1: This can't be happening**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

A S _torm just came~_

Chapter 1: This can't be happening

-Previously- [Tribute 9x19]

 _"_ _Em, how much longer do you have?" Hotch asked her, they had come back from the restaurant Penelope had dragged them about an hour ago and they were lying on their bed, their hearts had just came back to their normal pace but they still hadn't moved under the covers. He felt her smile against his chest and placed a soft kiss on his heart "I've got a day." She looked up at him to see a smile grazing his lips, reaching his eyes, getting his dimples to appear. Emily stretched her neck and kissed his cheek causing his smile to widen even more. "You truly are the second most gorgeous person I've seen." She tells him and an adorable look of confusion crossed his face. "Second? Who's the first?" she got up and placed her hands on his chest "Well my fiancé, remember? I'm engaged to your son!" Hotch laughed when he remembered the crush Jack used to have on Emily when he first met her, before he and Haley went to protective custody "Oh dear, my own son!" he raised his right hand to mockingly cover his eyes and pulled her closer with his left. Her laugh made his heart skip a beat or two and she poked his rips causing him to gasp. "Relax Scarlet O'Hara, give it a couple of years and your son will probably break off the engagement himself." She joked and he gave her a crocked smile, without raising his arm from his eyes. "Seriously?" Emily turns smiles back and forms a plan. Before he can react she straddles his waist and pins his hands to the mattress "I'm impressed, that was fast!" he tells her and they both know that he can break out if he wants. "Well thank you Agent Hotchner!" she leans and kisses him on the lips, but before he can deepen the kiss she pulls back. "What was that for?" he protests and the smile of her face widens even more, she laughs throwing her head back and his smile drops as he watches her, he thinks that she really is the most magnificent woman he had seen, but he didn't know how to tell her, because words weren't even close enough to describe her. She stops laughing and leans her head down, her body is pressed against his and her lips are next to his ear, she chose to ignore the fact that his smile was gone, or the look of slight sadness that lingered in his eyes, "You didn't ask me the most important question of ours." She whispers and fells him freeze beneath her. Something clicks in his brain and raises his hand to her face; his palms cup her cheeks and turn her head to face him. Their eyes link for a moment, but he stays silent, looking at her like he can see straight into her soul, her heart, her head and almost, almost wishes he could. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes; the scent of vanilla still lingers on her skin, now mixed with the scent of their sweat. It's a scent so unique, so different and yet so familiar. How could he breath without it, was still a mystery to him._

 _"_ _Em, sweetheart, will you come home?" the smile on her face softened, the lines appearing around her face smoothed and something in her eyes sparkled, he felt butterflies in his stomach again, after a really long time (exactly six years) and he knew he fell in love with her all over again, even harder than before, deeper than before, with absolutely no way out. If she leaves him now, he will die…_

 _"_ _Yes."_

Emily woke up and looked around her, the room was cold, the bed empty and she was confused, she was in Aaron's arms, she could smell his skin feel his heart beat hard against his ribcage, she could feel the thin scars on his chest as she traced her hand around playing with the soft hair she found here and there, counting his ribs with her fingers, but the bed was empty and the sheets red… the sheets were red? After she gives another look around, she sees the packed boxes around her, the dark blue walls, the London skyline from her window and drops her head back down the pillows. She had dreamed again of their last night together, she wanted to scream, she should be back to the States here and a week but she had to stay in London instead till all her affairs were in order. She cursed her director to Mars and back, she knew full well that he was stalling her return to the FBI hoping that she'll change her mind using the only weapon he had, her loyalty to her Unit and obligation, damn Aaron and his lessons about loyalty!, she was at her wits end right now. She just needed to go home, she missed everyone, if Cruz had called her to tell her everything with her transfer was complete she would have left already, obligation and duties be damned. She would have dropped the load to Clyde and be on the next flight over, after all she was staying on a curtsey here. She got up from the bed and looked at the clock next to her bed, it read 5:00 AM, she wanted to call Aaron, hear his voice, even if it was over the phone, she took the cell in her hand but realized that it was probably around midnight already in D.C. and put it back. She had to get up and start getting ready for work, she was determined that by tomorrow tops she will finish everything with Interpol and by the next week she'll be back in the states, she's had enough.

She was taking a late (really late) lunch break when her phone rang. Her heart beat faster 'Please be either Cruz telling me that the transfer was ready or Aaron.' All day, all freaking day she had the worst feeling in her gut telling her that something was wrong, all day she tried to remember the last time she had that feeling… yeah, a year ago when Aaron was ambushed by an UnSub, Peter Lewis, well that had gone well… he was an emotional wreck for days after. So much that she took Jack on a trip to London to give him time to recover. She'll never thank the Gods enough for the boy's good and trusting nature.

"Prentiss, give some good news!"

"Emily… it's…Oh God… it's Pen." Her smile fell when she heard Penelope sobbing on the other end of the line. Her mind working hard trying to remember the last time she heard her crying that much while calling her… when was it? All that came to her head was when she called her telling her that Derek was kidnapped.

"Pen? What's wrong?" Pen's sobs got harder on the other side and so did her worry _'God please don't let anyone be hurt, no… no please god no!'_

"It's… it's…oh Emily it's so bad…Emily…"

"Penelope! Who is it!" Emily used the best "Hotch" tone she had in her trying to get the woman on the other end of the line to focus.

"Oh Emily it's Hotch!" Emily felt the world spinning around her, everything kinda blurred together.

"Aaron? What… what happened, did he get shot; please tell me he didn't get shot. Pen… please tell me my husband is not dying!" she felt tears filling her eyes, some maybe fell too but she didn't care. The rest of the officers in the cafeteria were starring at her intrigued, they never had seen Officer Emily Prentiss lose control and cry in public, they had seen her angry every once in a blue moon, but sad? No never!

"Em… oh Em, I wish it was that simple as getting shot… he was arrested… for conspiracy to commit treason and terrorism, Emily they think he is a home grown terrorist!"

"Pen, this isn't a joke, what do you mean he was arrested? It's…" her chest was constricting her lungs making breathing difficult for her, she started gasping and almost dropped the phone, Penelope was right… so right… she wished it was something as simple as getting shot… "Is it real?" she asks one last time, her brain refusing to believe what she heard. Her husband, her straight laced, loyal, trustworthy, honorable husband arrested for conspiracy to commit treason and as a suspected terrorist? Who the hell thought that was even possible?

"I wish it was a joke Em. We need you here, please come back… Jack is crying and I… oh god, neither me, nor JJ can calm him; he cries asks for his dad. I… I need to go to work but he doesn't even want to see the FBI building, he hates us now. He thinks we are responsible for his dad getting arrested too, because in his eyes we are FBI too so we must have something to do with Hotch getting arrested… these bastards arrested him in his house… in front of Jack and Henry… those poor kids will have nightmares for…oh god, please Emily I don't know what to do, Jack looked himself to the bathroom, he won't talk to me, Henry hasn't stopped crying since JJ brought him home… he only talked to Jack and neither is even looking at me… what will I do?" her words were coming in short gasps, her tears chocking her, sobs filling her ears, all other sounds completely muffled.

"PG, listen, go to the bathroom door, and put the phone on speaker, I'll talk to Jack." Garcia cried a soft ok and heard her sniffing a couple of times before she heard her getting up and walking.

"Jack, honey, can you come to the door" a sob left her lips as she tried to coax the boy to the door.

"No! go away!" the sound of Jack's muffled voice from the other side of the door, filled with tears shattered her, "Pen, just put the phone on speaker and leave it by the door. It'll be ok" she didn't know who she was saying it for, but she did.

"K, thanks" Emily heard the sound of the phone touching the floor and took a deep breath.

"Jack? Baby, it's Emmy, can you please knock the door twice if you can hear me? You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to I just want to know if you're alright." She tried to soften her voice as much as she could. Tried to shut out all the prying looks and whispers about her life. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard two soft knocks on the door. "Oh thank god. Now listen to me baby, I want you to be strong for me ok, and I'll try to be in D.C. I need to talk to my boss baby and if I can get the jet I'll be there in about six hours, otherwise it might take me a bit longer, so I need you to be good for Penelope, Henry too. Baby, I know you are feeling betrayed by the FBI for arresting your dad, but the team is not responsible for that. You hear me? They love you and they love your dad, we are all a family, so honey please don't take it out on your aunts and uncles, don't worry aunt Penelope any more ok. Come out of the bathroom and please eat something, maybe get some sleep?" she heard Jack's soft cries, muffled by the door. "But Emmy, they got daddy, they arrested him, broke down our door and got him to kneel like he was the bad guy!" Emily drew in a deep breath; the boy's voice was broken, filled with tears and so much more sorrow than a boy his age should have.

"I know baby, I do, I wasn't there, but trust me I know, and I feel betrayed by the FBI for not knowing that your dad could never do such thing, I am, but I also trust our family and I know that if anyone can prove that your dad is innocent that's them. But no one can consecrate if you and Henry aren't well, and I'm sure your dad doesn't want that. Jack, no matter what I want you to know that your daddy loves you more than anything in the whole world and I don't want you to remember him on his knees, because he is not a criminal, remember him like he was in Hank's christening, remember, he was smiling so wide at the picture you sent me, and he looked so happy. Or remember how he looked when uncle Derek and aunt Savannah got married, or how he looked when aunt JJ and uncle Will got married, do you remember how happy he was, how bright his smile was, how he twirled you around and you laughed so, so hard. Remember him as he is when he wakes up, ruffled hair, a big smiled on his face, bare feet as he chases you around the house. Or how he looked when we dropped him into Uncle Dave's pool, do you remember that baby? Or when… when we woke him up that morning, when it snowed, back in 2009, it was March and there was so much snow, remember buddy, you spent the night with us and we stuffed snow down his pajama shirt, remember how loud he squealed, we played in the snow the whole day, you two had made me feel so much better. Don't remember him on his knees, like a bad guy, till your dad is back, remember him like I told you. Remember his arms hugging you, his hands tickling your sides till happy tears roll down your face, can you do this for me buddy?" Emily's tears were running down her cheeks freely now, everyone in the cafeteria, who was previously starring, had now turned away, feeling pervert-y peaking in to so intimate and personal times, she closed her eyes, trying to remember Aaron like she told Jack to and not on his knees, with his hands on his head, getting cuffed like a common criminal, like their next UnSub, but she couldn't, an image she hadn't seen plagued her mind's eyes.

"Yes Emmy, I can do that. Do you think I'll see my daddy soon again?" his voice was wavering and Emily could almost hear the shivers rocking the small body of the bay she came to love like her own son.

"I know you will baby, I'll make sure you see your daddy again, and he will be a free man." She made the promise to Jack and to herself this moment, trying to ease the guilt in her gut, and the voice, that freaking nagging voice in her head _'If only you never left, you could be there for both of them now. You would be able to comfort Jack and Penelope wouldn't have to hear him crying locked in her bathroom, and Aaron probably wouldn't have been arrested. It's all your fault' 'It's your fault, your fault, your fault, your fault, your fault, all your fault.'_

"Emmy, can you please not leave again? Bad things happen when you are not here." Emily swallowed a sob with difficulty, she knew she had to answer to the boy, but his simple innocent comment didn't help the guilt she was feeling at all "Daddy is always sad when you are not with us. Please don't go away again."

"I won't baby, I'm coming back and I'm never leaving again, I'll have to travel for work with daddy but we'll always come back home, ok. Always." She knew that was a promise she couldn't keep. She knew that their job was dangerous and that it was more than possible one of them, if not both of them to not come home.

"I don't want either you or daddy to go work for the FBI again. I don't trust them anymore, if the FBI arrested my daddy then they are not the good guys," Emily found herself agreeing with the ten year old boy and at the same time more tears filled her eyes, Jack always saw his dad and the team as some sort of superheroes, and the FBI was something like SHIELD to him, or maybe the Avengers. He always was in awe when he walked into the FBI HQ in Quantico as if he was stepping in a hellicarier, the day he did his homework on his dad's big agent office, sitting on his chair, using his desk was always in his top ten most favorite days. He always wanted to be an FBI agent just like his daddy, help people like his daddy, that Halloween he was dressed like Aaron, swelled like peacock when Aaron clipped on his tinny waist his empty holster and fixed his tie to match his own, or especially when he gave him his badge and his ID. She felt like crying when she heard the little boy telling his dad that he was him. Jack always wanted to come to Quantico for career day and as long as they didn't have a case he was, Aaron had even started bringing him to work when once a year they had Bring-Your-Kids-To-Work days. He was so happy when Penelope had given him his very own FBI badge and ID card. Emily at first had no clue how she pulled it off but when she learned about Rossi and Strauss along with a muffled conversation between "John" and Dave a couple days after confirmed her suspicion that the older man had something to do with getting Jack and Henry their very own FBI IDs and badges. After all those two were their very own BAU babies.

So to hear Jack now tell her how he doesn't _trust_ the FBI has breaking her heart more than she thought it might. "Oh baby, we'll talk about it better when I'm there, and your dad is there too. I promise you that neither me, nor your dad are going to do anything without talking to you first, is that alright?"

"Yeah."

"But I also want you to know that sometimes, the FBI doesn't have the power to stop some things. Some times when someone is suspected to have broken the rules, even if it's not true they have to arrest them, daddy and I had to do it in the past too, but those people always, and I mean it Jack ALWAYS went home to their families afterwards. So will daddy." _'Why, why would you do that? Why would you break the dream that the FBI was never wrong?' 'Well those dump shits have done well enough on their own!'_ She heard two voices in her head arguing, it was as if the little angel and the little devil in her head were fighting, she felt like she was going crazy.

"I have to go now baby, will you please do me a favor and do what I told you, please? It's not aunt Penelope's fault what happened." She realized that Pen's cries could still be heard through the phone and guessed she never really left the room, she also realized that her dear friend had probably heard the whole conversation too.

"Alright Emmy." The lock turned after that and she heard Jack's voice "I unlocked the door Aunt Penny. I'm sorry I was mean to you."

"Oh, my little G-Man don't worry, it's ok now, I get it… you are worried about your daddy, so am I, but if you and Henry give me a couple of big hugs maybe I'll feel better." Emily listened silently at the exchange between Jack and Pen, not even breathing out of fear of breaking the spell of the moment , a minute or so after she heard the door opening and someone picking the phone up "Emmy, I'm going to give Aunt Penny a hug now, when will you be here?" Emily snapped out of the haze she had fallen and looked around her, she was still in the cafeteria, still in the table farthest away from the rest. "I'm leaving to find my boss now baby. I'll call you as soon as I board the plane, ok?" she heard a small thump and guessed that Pen and Jack fell on the couch.

"We'll wait for you Em, right Jack?" Pen's voice still held tears and Emily knew as well as the technical analyst did that this wasn't going to change anytime soon. "Yeah, hurry Emmy!"

"I will" and with that she discontinued the call. She gathered her things leaving a couple of bills on the table, probably a few too many and leaving the cafeteria for the last time.

Emily was walking as fast as her legs could carry her and almost flew her way to the director's office Robert Abernathy was a tall lean man, his once thick black hair were now sprinkled with grays and started to thinning out with the stresses of the job.

"Officer Prentiss! I just got a called from Section Chief Cruz, requesting your immediate transfer back to the Bureau's assets I was just about to call you." He leaned back to his chair and she felt a knot in her stomach, Cruz had called her boss, things were really bad then.

"Yes sir I got a call from my stepson too, there is a family emergency at home, regarding my husband and I need to be there immediately, I am thankful for the opportunity Interpol gave me but my place right now is with the BAU", she carefully chose her words since it was hard to her that she had ANY kind of obligation to the FBI, other than the BAU.

"Yes I know Emily, Matt gave me a personal call, I've known the man for years and he explained to me the situation, and I do agree with him, the BAU does need you to help them prove your husband's innocence." Emily's eyes widened at the words leaving her director's mouth. She knew, she had gotten that so far, Cruz was far, far different from Strauss, he was so much more fiercefully loyal to the BAU than Erin Strauss ever was, maybe it was because of his friendship with JJ or because he truly liked them, or because of gratitude for saving his life, she didn't knew, didn't care to know either. She was thankful for his support, both of their supports.

"Then I'm sure you understand that I need to leave for the states immediately" she stressed the word immediately hoping he'll understand, please make him understand!

"Well you are extremely lucky Officer, excuse me Agent Prentiss because our new jet a Gulfstream G650 has just arrived and I am needed for an emergency in D.C. I don't think the pilot will mind another passenger, and I heard that it's extremely fast little plane. We are leaving in half an hour exactly."

Emily walked into her apartment hastily packing as many of her clothes as she could in a suitcase; her go bag was already prepared, always prepared, but she wanted to have as many clothes as she could, she wasn't coming back to her apartment, Clyde was more than capable of actually packing what she left and arranging for everything to be shipped to D.C. she closed the suitcase and grabbed the photo album from her nightstand, threw her bag on her shoulder and locked the door to her former apartment not looking back once.

She made it to the airstrip as fast as she could, pretty sure that she had broken a few speed limits, for sure. But she made it. It was 16:57 she made it with three minutes to spare. That's all that mattered, she took her things, locked the car in the parking lot and run to the new jet waiting there. For once she didn't care about keeping appearances and actually run down the strip and up the stairs.

"Glad you made it Agent Prentiss." Director Abernathy was sitting towards the back of the plane in one of the twin seats and she took the one across from him, "you look exhausted Emily. Maybe you should take one of the couches and grab some hours of sleep." Emily turned her head and noticed the two suede gray couches between the twin seats and the single ones on the front of the plane. The offer was tempting, too tempting but she had to decline "Thank you sir but maybe later." She took out her cell phone and found Pen's number pressing call "Excuse me for a moment" she got up from her seat and walked to the front "Garcia" Emily's breath got caught in her throat when she heard Pen's plain answer.

"Pen, it's me, I just got on the jet, we'll be in D.C. in about six hours, I'll call when I land, is Jack ok?"

"Oh, Em, yeah, he and Henry exhausted themselves, the poor guys are sleeping I'll get him to call you as soon as he wakes up, is that ok?" Emily smiled, lowering her head to hide it from the director. "Sure, tell him I love him, Henry too. Let him know everything will be ok."

"Sure'll do." Penelope hanged up the phone and Emily put hers back in her pocket walking back to the back of the plane.

"Is your stepson alright?" Emily was taken aback by his answer, she knew the director for almost four years now, him being promoted around the same time, although he was always kind and fair to her he never really indulged in personal conversations " I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable Emily, I just… well we have five and half hours in front of us, I've seen you in the office you are driven, loyal, bright, I can only guess that your family has something to with this strength but as your director I couldn't satisfy my inner profiler and get to know you or your family, now though you are just a former Interpol officer and a future FBI agent, I am just talking to a friend, or at least I can hope I can call you that." Emily let a small smile appear on her lips that barely touched her troubled dark eyes, "You sure can sir"

"If we are friends Emily you can call me Robert."

 **A/N: Did you like it? It was just such a nagging idea that got stuck with me when I watched the promo of the next episode; I just HAD to write it. I hope you like chapter 1, I'll try and update as soon as I can, please let me know what you're thinking and if you'd like to read the next chapter.**

 **Till next time, Bye!**

 **OHHH Here is a little sneak peak! [Because I'm nice like that** **J** **]**

 _Next…_

 _Emily and Robert stayed in silence for the next three hours of their flight, she was preoccupied with the album she had snatched from her apartment and he was reading a thick file in front of him, the silence between them was light, easy, nothing awkward or uncomfortable._

 _They both jumped when two hours into the flight Emily's phone ringed._


	3. A trip down to memory land Part 1

**A/N: Chapter 2 is here people!Thank you for your reviews, you really made me happy, this story was a major bet for me, since I started writing only drables and then one shots. This is by far one of the longest stories I've attempted to write and you guys are defiantly making me think that maybe I should do it again. Thank you so so much! Back to this chapter, we have a bit swearing, from the most unexpected source towards the end and a lot of happy memories of the team.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, sadly, oh the things I would change if I did!**

 _Chapter 2: A trip down to memory land [Part 1]_

 _Previously_

 _"_ _Is your stepson alright?" Emily was taken aback by his answer, she knew the director for almost four years now, him being promoted around the same time, although he was always kind and fair to her he never really indulged in personal conversations " I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable Emily, I just… well we have five and half hours in front of us, I've seen you in the office you are driven, loyal, bright, I can only guess that your family has something to with this strength but as your director I could satisfy my inner profiler and get to know you or your family, now though you are just a former Interpol officer and a future FBI agent, I am just talking to a friend, or at least I can hope I can call you that." Emily let a small smile appear on her lips that barely touched her troubled dark eyes, "You sure can sir"_

 _"_ _If we are friends Emily you can call me Robert."_

* * *

Emily and Robert stayed in silence for the next three hours of their flight, she was preoccupied with the album she had snatched from her apartment and he was reading a thick file in front of him, the silence between them was light, easy, nothing awkward or uncomfortable.

They both jumped when two hours into the flight Emily's phone ringed. "I'm sorry I need to take this."

"Emmy!" she smiled wider than she had since she left D.C. three weeks ago. "Hey baby, did you sleep well?" she softened her voice unknowingly just like she did every time she talked to the little boy.

"I miss daddy Emmy, I can't sleep well without him"

"I know buddy, I can't sleep well without your daddy either. He's really good at bedtime stories!" Emily smiled when she heard the enthusiastic response she got from the little guy, Jack although was already ten years old, he still wouldn't go to sleep if he didn't got at least a good night from his father. Sometimes a bedtime story, well a story about how his day had went, still his father's voice was enough to lull him to sleep. Emily didn't even want to imagine a world where Aaron couldn't say goodnight to his son each and every night, even over the phone. That would surely kill both father and son. "Emmy are you coming? I want to see you." Her heart warmed at his words, he was the only person in the world that called her Emmy and his persistence in her coming to the states was always what made it harder to get back to London. So hard that in the end she just couldn't keep leaving her boys behind.

"I'm on the plane baby, in about four hours I'll be over." Jack left a squeal and the small happy sound made her heart skip a beat. She was delighted that he was even capable of feeling that happy after everything that happened today. "Henry drew daddy a picture and I made him a card, telling him how much I miss him and how much I love him, uncle Spencer will give them to daddy, he said he'll visit later, I want to visit daddy too but aunt Penny said that they don't allow kids where daddy is, she means prison right? Daddy is in prison isn't he? I still don't trust the FBI but you were right Emmy, our family is smart and they will get daddy out, because he doesn't belong there, prison is where bad guys go and daddy is a good guy! I still think I don't want you or daddy to work for the FBI again." Jack's words were flowing out of his mouth in an impossible speed and Emily thought that she and Aaron need to seriously reduce the time he spent with Spencer because little Hotchner was seriously starting to sound like Reid.

"Jack, baby slow down, I can barely follow. Aunt Penny is right, kids aren't allowed in the holding cells, your dad isn't in prison, he isn't a bad guy. We talked about it remember? I think he will love your card and Henry's picture, I bet you it's gonna make him smile."

"I hope so Emmy, because he seemed real sad when these men took him away. They didn't even let me give him a hug!" Emily took a deep breath, the experience stuck with the little boy more than he was willing to admit it. "Look baby, why don't you do draw another picture for daddy, maybe make him another card, and we'll talk when I'm there, I promise you, you can tell me whatever you want, alright"

"Alright Emmy, should I give you Aunt Penny?"

Emily smiled and told him to do that. "Hey Em, what's wrong."

"Pen, are the boys in the room?"

"No, bedroom"

"How is Jack, really, has he slept at all, eaten, I can tell that at least he stopped crying but, how about everything else? Has he spoken about what happened?"

"Oh Em, he said nothing, nada, zilch! Not to me, not to JJ, Dave, we all tried, even Tara she hoped that being new and not really an agent he might open up to her but he didn't, he closed off and… at least he talks to me now and doesn't think I'm a she-devil. I guess that's something. They still whisper with each other neither Henry nor Jack truly trust us. Henry hid his picture from me and Jack put his card in an envelope before I could see it. I don't know what to do Emily; I'm at my wits end here! JJ thought that being Henry's mom she'll get him to open up to her and maybe drag Jack along but he didn't, what he told her instead was that until Uncle Aaron was back the only person he will speak to is Jack. I just hope and pray they'll talk to you when you're here, given that you aren't FBI and Jack worships the ground you step on, I just hope… neither slept well. I know that Jack told you that he slept but he didn't he was waking up crying every ten minutes asking for Hotch, for you, for his mom, even his aunt Jessica, he has barely eaten half of the Mac and cheese I made him, I don't know what to do." Emily flinched when she heard what Pen had decided to cook for Jack "Oh Pen, try making him something else. Jack eats Mac and cheese only when Aaron makes them" her breath caught in her throat and a soft gasp left her lips "I made it worse, oh god I made it worse." She kept repeating the same thing again and again "Penelope, don't worry, you couldn't have known. Avoid spaghetti and pasta at all costs that's what Aaron likes to use as a base when he cooks. Try making them chicken and Aaron passed to Jack his love of all things spicy so you can throw some jalapenos, just not many. Jack loves when you bring weird foot at family dinners so maybe you should make them those chicken tacos you made last time, and Jack really loved the mango juice you made too. Oh and if you really want to impress them use your margarita glasses, put some sugar on the rim, make it look like our drinks do. Just whatever you do, do not use pasta or fries, use rice and vegetables instead." Emily looked up a shocked and amused look crossed his face, she turned her head to the window again "Pen, try to get them to remember the happy times, remember how much we love each other, you still have the tapes we all made don't you? Show them some of that. Also, try to connect with them; both Jack and Henry are old enough to be able to make a connection. We need to get them both to trust someone and soon, Jack needs to tell us if anything strange happened, if they had any weird phone calls at home if some person he didn't know visited Aaron, we need to know how the set up took place and Jack is the only person that knows Aaron better than anyone. Try using what happened with Derek, remember he was arrested on false charges, and maybe call him too; maybe he can get them to open up. You can also use the fact that even you were arrested by the FBI before you started working for them. Try to use past experiences to connect with them. Try to get them to trust you enough to open up to you. We can't afford to lose any more time and Jack is probably the only one that can help us. He is the only person Aaron lets his armor down for. Do these and everything will be alright."

"Thanks, oh Em, Jack is right you need to come back and never leave again, bad things happen when you aren't here or at least you make the bad things easier" Emily smiled at Pen's words "Don't worry PG I'm never leaving again." She hanged up and placed the phone on the table in front of her.

"They are lucky to have you Emily." She looked up to Robert and smiled

"I'm the lucky one."

"You know you are right, your stepson, Jack, he needs to talk to someone, but so do you. You need to talk to someone, maybe those signs you look for from him you might have seen some of them too." Emily looked at him straight in the eyes, she knew he was right, she knew she had to talk to someone, even if she hadn't noticed a thing she was still his wife and people will have questions. She looked around to the empty plane taking in the light gray walls, the white leather seats, the dark tables, and then her eyes turned back to the man she was traveling with, "if you don't have something else to Robert I'd love to."

"Well Emily, we do have three and a half hours left."

* * *

Penelope looked at the two boys sitting on her bed, they had multiple crayons around them, papers too, both seemed to be in deep thought each having a paper in front of them, she smiled and got up, she kneeled next to the TV and took out a square box she is always keeping there. "Jack, Henry, can you come over, I have some things I need to share with you."

"Ok Aunt Penny!" she turned back and sat down on the couch, she smiled at their confused faces and patted the seats next to her. Jack helped Henry climb on her left and Jack followed on the other side. "What's that aunt penny?" Henry asked pointing at the closed box on her lap.

"These are some of my best memories. Well around thirteen years ago I was a totally other person, I used to… do not so good things, I didn't really trust the government and I believed that we would be better off without them. I was hurt and angry because my mom and dad died on a car crash and the police never found the other driver. But I grew tired and I realized that, the government isn't that bad. Do you know who made me trust the government again?" both boys said no and Pen smiled "It was your dad Jack, he arrested me. I… I was leaving breadcrumbs and he was the only one who understood them. He saved me from a life that I couldn't get out of on my own. He talked to me like a real person, and offered me a job, a job at the BAU as a technical analyst. And that day, that exact day he gave me more than my freedom, he gave me my family back. Although not the original, he did give me a family. That's what's in the box, it's filled with all the amazing memories I've got from my family. Each photo has a story and if you want I can tell you each and every one of them, are you game?" the boys looked at each other and Henry nodded to Jack. The older boy turned to Penelope and leaned closer to her "Will you?" Penelope smiled, but tears kept falling from her eyes, "Of course my darlings."

She opened the box and took out a pack of pictures "Ok, here, this one is from my first Christmas at the BAU, here is me, uncle Derek with his hand around my shoulders, Spencer fidgeting with his hat and your dad. This was the first time I saw him smile and he blew me right away…

 _"_ _Come on everyone baby girl needs a group shot!" Spencer's eyes widened and he looked up to Hotch who was sitting across from him at the table almost pleading him to put an end to this "Derek I told you, stop calling her that, you two are a sexual harassment waiting to happen!" Garcia laughed and threw her now blonde hair behind her shoulder "Come on my Aaron! Just a picture! And you HAVE to smile!" Hotch's face broke in a big smiled that had her squealing._

 _"_ _Chocolate thunder hurry hurry take the picture!"_

The boys laughed at Penelope's story and she placed the picture on the table carefully, she took the next picture in her head "Who is this aunty?" Henry asked showing at the woman in the shot with the long brown hair. "Oh, Henry… that's Elle, she was a great friend but she left, that's why you don't know her. And the man next to her, that's Jason Gideon, uncle Spencer talks about him a lot!"

"Daddy too." Jack said.

"Yeah, well that's… we took that picture the day Elle joined the team…

 _"_ _Sir, I am not kidding I need to take a group shot and if grumpy faced isn't there I swear to god I will make him pay!" Hotch looked up from his paper work, days like this he was wondering why for the love of god he had offered her a job. She was defiantly giving him a headache._

 _"_ _Look, Penelope, I can't promise for Jason that he'll be there. But you will have the rest of us." He tried to sound calm and almost kind and partially succeeded._

 _"_ _But it's not a group shot!" Hotch rubbed his temples, "Look Haley kept me awake the whole night because she was having carvings and I had to drive in the whole damn city to find some damn mango ice cream, only to find that they don't have that damn flavor!" Hotch leaned back in his chair looking every bit exhausted as he felt right now. Garcia looked at the worn out man in front of her "Oh my liege!" she took one of his hands which were placed on the desk in hers and rubbed a few circles on his skin "Next time Haley wants ice cream, any of those crazy flavors just call me, I've got an ice cream maker, I'll just make a batch!" Hotch smiled at the quirky young woman in front of him and thanked her. Garcia got up and turned to leave the office "Garcia, I'll get Jason to be there."_

"And as you can see he got him." Henry's eyes were stuck on the picture taking in all the faces, it was such a long time ago that even to Penelope it looked as if it was a lifetime ago. They were all such young faced, so bright smiles on their faces, so unaware of the monsters and the horrors the future holds for them. "My daddy looks tired." Jack mentioned showing Hotch, he had dark circles underneath his eyes, he had an arm around the younger Penelope and another around JJ who was hugging Spencer close. Derek was hugging Penelope with his left arm, giving her a big kiss on the cheek and had his right arm around Elle, she had a bright smiled on her face and used her right hand to give Gideon bunny ears. A nostalgic smile appeared on Penelope's face. She missed those carefree days. back them when they were all somehow happy.

She took a deep breath and placed the picture next to the other, she picked up the pile again and looked at the next picture. "Oh, look at that! Do you know this one?" Penelope saw Jack's eyes widen when he realized what picture it was. "This was from my christening!"

"Yes, it was my little G-Man"

 _"_ _Ok, guys gather together, I need to take one good picture!" Haley said "Derek please stop giving Spencer bunny ears" the tall man lowered his hand from behind the young genius's head and looked as if he was caught with his hand in the honey jar. "Jason, a smile won't hurt you please, Dave! Don't even think about it!" Dave, who was standing next to Gideon lowered his hand in shame "You should be a profiler Haley" he said at the new mother, who chuckled "Yeah right, trust me Dave one profiler in the house is more than enough." Aaron turned and looked at her in fake hurt "Don't look at me like that Aaron, you are a handful, now get your team to act like adults so we can finally get the picture before Jack wakes up and starts wailing."_

 _"_ _You heard the boss guys!"_

Jack was now laughing, a sound that warmed Penelope's heart. "Was uncle Dave going to give Mr. Gideon bunny ears?" he asked and Penelope felt the tears filling up her eyes again, she hadn't witnessed many moments between the two founders of the BAU but those few moments she cherished them in her heart. The two of them so different and yet they still managed to do the most difficult thing, they made each other smile and laugh and loosen up. "You bet he was going to! But your mom stopped him. It's a pity really, a BAU family photo without bunny ears? But I guess giving the fact that there was a professional photographer on site it made sense." Penelope smiled at the picture, the sight of Hotch holding his newborn son tightly on his arms, as if he could protect him from everything in the world, the loving look Haley had when she was looking at the small bundle in her husband's arms, those were the images that she needed right now. Elle was wearing a red sundress, she had an arm around JJ's waist who was wearing a light blue dress. Spencer was standing behind them, almost towering over JJ, who wore flats that day, he was dressed nicely for probably the first time, wearing a pair of dark jeans and a white shirt with no tie. To this day Pen still thanks the Gods for their grace to stop him from picking some weird tie that day. Dave and Gideon were standing next to each other on the other side of the parents and the newborn Jack, and they almost looked like the proud grandparents. In some weird way they did look like Haley's parents looked that day, as if Hotch was their son, she wanted to burst in tears and remembered why those pictures were in a box under the TV and not in an album, or framed. She quickly left the picture on the table and picked the next.

"When was this taken?" Henry asked.

"This was taken in September in 2006, Elle was shot few months back and this was her first case back, we worked with an old coworker of your dad's and we thought to get a picture when the case was solved...

" _Come on Katie, if you leave without a picture Garcia might implode!" Hotch joked, Katie smiled widely and followed him and the blonde woman to the conference room "I heard that my liege! You are lucky you are cute!" Hotch rolled his eyes and followed the two women in the room, Jason was already sitting on his usual chair, stealing glanced at Elle who was chatting with JJ on the other side of the table. "Alright everyone you know the drill" Hotch said, everyone got up and walked towards him, taking their poses, and smiling at the camera Derek had set up, "Ok, Anderson, this button, got it?" the young agent nodded once again at Derek who told him the same thing for the fiftieth time. "Got it agent Morgan, got it"_

"Who's agent Anderson?" Henry asked. Jack's smile fell a little "He is an FBI agent, he works in the BAU." Penelope felt the sting in her heart, no matter how better Jack treated her, his hatred for the FBI hadn't lessen up one bit. Anderson wasn't officially member of the team but Hotch always liked him a lot and more often than not he was included in their outings. Jack had spent a lot of time with him in the past and he seemed to like him, after all he did got him into Star Wars. "He is Mr. Grant darling, and yes he does work for the BAU." Penelope high lightened the BAU and not the FBI the same way she called Anderson, Mr. Grant and not Agent Anderson, maybe when this was all over the relationship between the two boys and Grant won't be completely destroyed. She left the picture on the table looking through the next few, mostly pictures of her and Derek, to find the next she was looking for. "Ok, look at this, it was my birthday! Uncle Derek had got everyone to surprise me. They got me a cake and balloons, it was amazing!"

"Miss Elle isn't here." Jack observed when he looked at the picture "Yes honey, she had left the team, that's why Uncle Derek got me the surprise, I was sad that she had left and I needed the pick me up. He surprised me to make me feel better"

"And did he?" Henry asked.

"Oh yeah, he did…

 _"_ _Chocolate thunder, chocolate thunder, chocolate thunder! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Penelope wrapped her arms around Derek's neck holding him tightly to her. Hotch had a big smile on his face after what seemed a really long time. She looked around her, all her gifts lying there. The flowers from Gideon, with the happy birthday card, the flower hairclips from JJ, the new watch from Hotch, the new phone from Derek and a book from Reid, her family was almost all here, she missed Elle so much, she understood why she couldn't stay, she really did, and she wouldn't like her to stay if she wasn't happy anymore. It just pained her that she had dropped off the face of the earth; hopefully it wouldn't be for long. She can't just forget them, can she?_

 _"_ _Ok, I think we need to go back to work" Hotch said, his smile flattering and falling, he had a HUGE pile of files on his desk making him to almost groan._

 _"_ _No! Wait I want to take a picture!" Gideon groaned only to have Hotch elbow him in the ribs and throw him a glare that Penelope had categorized as 'Don't you dare' type._

 _"_ _Whatever you want Garcia!" Hotch smiled at her, a significally smaller smile but still… better than nothing._

"Daddy elbowed Mr. Gideon?" Penelope's smile got even bigger at the memory; this was defiantly an Un-Hotch moment. "Yeah, he did. I got shocked, I never thought your daddy would do such a thing, especially given the fact that Mr. Gideon was your daddy's teacher when he joined the BAU, and his boss for years." Jack seemed to be in deep thought over what Penelope said.

"Do you have more stories Aunt Penny?" Jack said, his bid hazel eyes looked at hers, she gasped for a moment, they looked so much like his father's, as she studied the little boy she realized how similar father and son really were, usually someone took notice of Jack's dark blonde hair and Hotch's dark brown and thought that father and son were completely the opposite from each other. When in reality if someone pays closer attention will see the small similarities in their faces. Father and son have the same eyes, nose, lips, high cheekbones, and she could almost see the defined jaw line Jack will grow into having. They had the same look on their faces when they concentrated on things; they both were loyal and trustworthy. And stubborn… my God they were stubborn. According to Emily, Hotch said it was part of the Hotchner charm. Like the dimples.

"Aunt Penny when was this taken?" Henry had picked another picture from the file, JJ was holding baby Henry in her arms, Will's arms were wrapped around her shoulders, Hotch and Emily were standing next to him, he had his hands in his pockets and she had hers clutched in front of her. Penelope and Spencer were standing on the other side of JJ's bed with Dave behind them, his arm around JJ's shoulders, clasping Will's arm, big, proud smile on his face…

 _"_ _Ok happy family, big smiles for the camera!" Penelope smiled widely at the characterization the nurse had used. No one said anything to correct her, not really caring that they weren't a "real" family. Blood related that is. Everyone put their best smile, it only took a second and this moment of pure happiness was captured forever on the camera for all eternity._

"It was right after you were born."

"Daddy and Emmy had gotten married too!" Jack said, his little face smiled wider for a moment before it fell "Daddy said that he and Emmy will get married again so I'll be there." Penelope bit her lip "Well Jack-Jack they will, and it'll be the best wedding in the history of weddings, I promise you that!" Jack gave her a half smile, not really trusting her words, although he truly wanted to. She couldn't blame him, she didn't trust herself either. She knew that Hotch was innocent, he couldn't be guilty. He just couldn't, how was it possible for someone as good, and kind, and loyal, to be planning to bomb the FBI academy? It couldn't be true. But could she prove it? That was a totally different story. She knew she'd try, she'd try her hardest, but was her hardest good enough?

"Aunty." Henry's voice drew her out of her haze, in his hand he had a picture, one of the most recent ones she had "when was this taken?" she took the picture from his hand "Oh baby, this one…

 _Dave offered his house for them to continue their partying, they all accepted, after all when they'll get Emily back in the states again, with their time consuming jobs in different sides of the ocean it wasn't as if they could jump on a plane. So they drove to his place, Penelope drove with Reid, Derek went back home to get Savannah who probably was back from the hospital, Emily drove with Hotch, JJ and Will drove in their car, and Alex drove in her car. They almost reached to the mansion at the same time, Dave first, Penelope and Spencer second, Derek and Savannah third, Alex fourth, Emily and Hotch fifth and JJ with Will last. Dave opened his house, let them in, all of them felt the exhaustion come over them. The day was way too long. They didn't know what they needed first, a drink, a shower, or sleep. Maybe a massage too, or even better all together._

 _Rossi dragged them to his back patio and gave them a pile of blankets each; the night was warm enough if they wanted to stay outside but mother hen extraordinaire Dave Rossi wouldn't even think of leaving them getting a cold, not in his watch! No one seemed to mind._

 _"_ _I checked on Matt at the hospital, he'll probably check himself out in about…" JJ took Will's hand who had a huge smile on his face when he remembered JJ's friend struggling to get off the bed, "Thirty minutes. Unless the nurses decide to cuff him to the bed, then it'll take him about two hours, only because he might not have enough strength to break out of the cuffs using shear force right now." Everyone turned and looked at her shocked. They now knew that JJ and Cruz had a good relationship while working in Afghanistan, Emily knew that JJ considered him a friend as well as a coworker, but apparently the two of them were a little closer than just coworkers who had to be friendly with each other. "What?" JJ asked seeing the shocked faces of their friends._

 _"_ _How for the love of God would you know how long it would take Cruz to break out of his restrains?" Derek said, his left brow was arched, his eyes shinning mischievously._

 _"_ _Because he showed me, and taught me!" JJ said, a smile on her lips, a smug look on her eyes. Everyone burst out laughing._

 _Penelope looked around and saw her family in absolute happiness, it's been too long since the last time something like that had happened. JJ snuggled closer to Will turning her head and placing a kiss on his neck. She knew he was ticklish there and still did it. Her warm lips apparently were too much of a contrast to his neck because he almost squealed when she did it. It was refreshing seeing them like that, so happy and in love with each other, even after eight years. Especially after those eight years._

 _Alex was chatting happily with Emily who was sitting closer to Hotch than she had seen her do in the last three years. She wanted, her romantic heart did, to believe that the two of them still loved each other, maybe, just maybe they would be together… maybe even already were, (Hotch is with Beth!) her brain was screaming at her to see the light, that Hotch wasn't a cheater, he wouldn't cheat on Beth, no matter how much he might love Emily or not. After all they tried but it didn't work out for them, any feelings they might still hold for each other don't really matter that much. And maybe… just maybe that was for the better. Maybe they weren't that good for each other, but my oh my they looked good together._

 _Hotch was talking with Rossi, both of them had big smiles on their faces. He had a blanket on his lap, while Rossi looked like he wanted to bury himself in his blanket. Derek and Savannah were sharing a blanket, they were hugging tightly, a picture of pure perfection in her eyes. She never had seen her chocolate thunder so happy, so complete, so balanced. She was happy, oh so happy for them. And last she looked next to her, Spencer was looking around, profiling their family in the same way she was doing before, ok maybe not the exact same way but she knew he was studying them just like she was studying them._

 _They all got startled when they heard a car stopping outside the yard. Most of them reached for their guns, still holstered. They heard the door slamming and a man yelling "Motherfucker!" confused looks reached all of their faces. The man on the other side was coming closer to the house, or the back yard, who knew. A strain of crushed kept leaving his mouth and all but JJ were surprised at what that man could say. Spencer in particular was burning red. "Oh motherballs where in the fuckity fuck is the fucking door bell! Jareau! Get your ass here and open this motherfucking door before I fucking break it down!" JJ got up from Will's arms and one of the biggest smiles of the night crossed her lips. "Mattie I'm gonna wash your mouth with soap! We've got children here!" her voice ringed as she danced in the house and opened the door._

 _"_ _Fucking nurses! No Mr. Cruz you have to stay in the hospital tonight! You were stabbed!" They all looked inside the house where their Section Chief was imitating the nurse who tried to keep him in the hospital "Big whoop I've been stabbed before, did I die? No!" Emily's mouth fell open at that and turned to Hotch "Jesus Christ he is worse than you, how did they find you people?" Hotch rolled his eyes, and turned his attention back to the house trying to see from the open patio door what was happening inside the house. "Mattie I swear to God you say another bad word and I will wash your mouth with soap!" JJ's voice sounded like a mother's with a naughty child. Emily could swear to God she had heard her friend use that tone on Henry before. Cruz groaned louder and got outside to join them in the patio. He looked around at their faces and his eyes widened "Oh fudgenuts! Did I just embarrass myself in front of like the whole BAU?"_

 _"_ _Uh huh!" he jumbled when he felt JJ standing right behind him. "For fucks sake JJ, I just got tortured."_

 _"_ _No shit Sherlock so did I." she arched her brow challenging him to answer to that, the man in front of her opened his mouth to answer but Will got him before he could, clasping a hand on his mouth "Just don't man, just don't you'll never win." He said_

 _"_ _And he is right, so Mattie take a blanket and sit your preposterous ass down. Or I'll drive you to the hospital and cuff you to the bed." He took a blanket and sat down next to Reid trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and JJ "Why is my ass preposterous? and you know fucking well I can break the fuck out of them!"_

 _"_ _I can't believe it people!" everyone turned to Hotch who was looking at all of them in fake shock "How did the bureau went from giving us Erin Strauss as a Section Chief who I don't even think she knew how to swear to getting us a section chief who swears like a drunken sailor. Not that I'm complaining, this can make budget meeting much funnier than they used to be but still." Everyone was looking around and as if someone counted to three they all busted out laughing till tears were rolling down their eyes. Cruz groaned and reached for his abdomen._

 _"_ _Oh fucking pisstaker!"_

 _They only laughed harder._

"Uncle Matt curses a lot and mommy says she'll wash his mouth with soap if he does it again. But he always do." Henry said smiling, Penelope gasped she had majorly censored her story, she didn't want neither her Superman and Wonder woman nor Batman and Robin to kill her for teaching their tiny superheroes the swear words uttered by their Section Chief.

"You mean Cruz swears in front of you?"

"Yeah, but usually I'm not in the room, only when he is alone with daddy and mommy, maybe aunty Katie too." Penelope smiled, here and the last five months their section chief, recently divorced (surprise, surprise!) started dating Katie Cole, a Unit Chief from the crimes against children division and former BAU agent. Their meeting, curtsey of none other than the one and only Dave Rossi who's been trying to be everyone's fairy godmother these days.

Any other time Penelope would ask about those get together, any other time she would have called JJ and drilled her to the ground till she gets her answers. But then again any other time she might not even need to bring out the box of memories and she wouldn't have remembered that their Section Chief swears worse than a drunken sailor on a good day.

"Oh well, next time Uncle Matt curses I'll wash his mouth with soap!" she turned to look at Jack who's been unusually silent the whole time, "Jack-Jack what's wrong?" Jack looked up to her, his hazel eyes filled with unshed tears "I miss daddy so much Aunt Penny! And I've been horrible to you, and Aunt JJ, Uncle Dave, Uncle Spencer, even Miss Tara." He buried his face in her chest and started silently sobbing there. Penelope felt the wet spot on her shirt and hugged the crying boy closer to her body, "Don't worry Jack- Jack, we all miss your daddy, he is the closest to a father I have, but you don't have to feel bad about what you said to any of us. We know how terrible this whole thing is, but look at me, we'll do anything and everything we can to get your daddy back. Do you believe me?" the boy in her arms had managed to stop his sobs slightly and nodded at her. "Good, and if that'll make you feel better we'll quit from the FBI, because we are a family and families follow each other to the end. Ok?"

Jack nodded and buried himself in her embrace again "When is Emmy going to be here?"

"In about an hour, Jack-Jack."

 **A/N: Did you like it? I got really carried away by this story; it's probably the biggest one I've ever written! It's probably going to be around eight to ten chapter (epilogue included). I think I'll start divert from canon a little bit, mostly the timeline and some of the ages because it just doesn't make much sense otherwise. I hope you like it, let me know! As always!**

 **Till next time, Bye!**

 **OHHH Here is another little sneak peak!**

 _"_ _Why don't you tell me how you and your husband met? Maybe we could start from slightly easier and happier subjects." Robert said. Emily looked up and looked at the man in front of her "Maybe you are right" we met when I was about twenty; he was twenty six, twenty seven maybe. He was assigned to my mother's staff to run security clearances…_


	4. A trip down to memory land Part 2

**A/N: Here is chapter 3! It's heavy in dialogue but is soooo full on Hotchniss... Thank you so so much for your reviews, I love reading your comments so keep the reviews coming!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer in Chapter 1**

 _Chapter 3: A trip down to memory land [Part 2]_

 _Previously_

 _Jack nodded and buried himself in her embrace again "When is Emmy going to be here?"_

 _"_ _In about an hour, Jack-Jack."_

Next

"Why don't you tell me how you and your husband met? Maybe we could start from slightly easier and happier subjects." Robert said. Emily looked up and looked at the man in front of her "Maybe you are right, we met when I was about twenty; he was twenty six, twenty seven maybe. He was assigned to my mother's staff to run security clearances, I saw him around the house a couple of times, he was tall, dark hair, hazel eyes, he didn't smile a lot but when he did, oh boy… he would light up the room, I liked him I'm not gonna lie…I did. Funny thing is, we never talked. Not until the last night, before I left for Yale. I would feel his eyes on me, and I know he felt my eyes on him but none of us made a move. It's like we convinced ourselves that the other was unavailable, out of our liege and we shouldn't try. My father introduced us that night, split second I shake his hand and then my mother drags me away to socialize with some 'more appropriate' species of the male population, proper husband material in her eyes. The whole night I would feel his eyes on my back, it was like he was burning my skin with his stare. I chose a red gown that night, knowing that the color looks good on me. I wanted to get his attention. I rammed through hundreds of stores to find it. But I did… oh and it was perfect. It was a trumpet style, really tight all the way to the hips. It had a lace pattern on the front, a small train, long sleeves. If some only saw the front they'd call it boring, but the whole back was open. First time I went to a hair salon to get my hair, I went and got nails done, bought matching shoes and clutch. I got a professional makeup artist to do my makeup. The lengths I went to get his attention were absolutely ridiculous."

Emily looked outside the window and smiled nostalgic when she remembered the younger version of the man she loves with her whole heart giving her his hand " _Please call me Hotch, or Aaron."_ And his smile, oh god his smile.

"Did he ask you to dance?" Emily turned her head back startled. Robert was smiling "Yes. One dance, just one, and the feeling of his hand on my back imprinted itself in my senses and I could get rid of it. It's truly pathetic because after that meeting he rekindled his relationship with his high school sweetheart which he ended up marrying in 2000 and having a son with and I stayed stuck in limbo. I don't blame him, just to clear this out, and his late wife was an amazing woman, I really liked her, and I tried to move on as well. It's not like I stayed back pinning over him to come back and sweep me off my feet so we can live happily ever after. I moved on, I fell in love, I fell out of love too. I got relationships, even an engagement. Although my fiancé was a national terrorist and I was undercover so that doesn't really count." Robert laughed, easing Emily's nerves, being engaged to Doyle was something that she joked about a lot now that both he and Lauren were dead and buried, but she still didn't know how other people would take it.

Aaron for example saw it as a joke and would usually answer to her with " _Well sweetheart aren't you happy that at least the second time wasn't a wanted criminal?"_ they would laugh and get it over with. "Oh well second time is a charm." She smiled at his comment "That's Aaron says too."

"And after that meeting when did you saw each other again?"

"It was about ten years later. November 25th, 2006, I went to his office because I had finally gotten the transfer to the BAU I wanted and I needed to inform him give him my papers and ask him if he knew where to put my staff, he wasn't informed of the transfer it was all scheme by our former Section Chief, she wanted to get him fired because she saw him as a competition for the director's chair, but Aaron doesn't want that. He doesn't even want to be section chief; a desk job would kill him. She got me in the unit and he thought it was a favor, or that maybe I had a political agenda. He was an asshole to me! But still every look, every involuntary touch, it would spark a fire unlike any other. I can't really explain it. But it was like he had me under his spell. It took us three months to get to a civil point and about ten to get to a point where we were almost friends. We trusted each other; we would lay our life to the other's hands and shared occasional drinks with each other every week. It's not exactly friendship but its close. The first night he came to my apartment and we reached that agreement, his wife had just left, she took their son and left, she had enough of the job, of the danger, of the long hours. I never really knew. Over the course of months we really did became friends. I started see glances of the man he really was. His humor, his big heart, his southern gentleman ways. He made me fall in love with him harder than I have ever had before." Robert looked intrigued with her story.

"When did things started to shift between you two?"

"I think…we had a case in New York the bombers/shooters. Aaron got blown up, he was going to his SUV with another agent SSA Joyner and the car blew up. I saw him getting blown from video feed and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Felt like someone was chocking me. I don't know how exactly to describe the feeling because I haven't… I'm not exactly sure what I felt. All I know is that I felt as if I got blown up which is impossible. After the bomb he had an acoustic trauma, his right eardrum was blown, so he came over my place, the doctor forbade him living alone for the month he was recovering. He hadn't told me he just appeared on my doorstep. We both could feel something changing between us; no one did anything to stop it. He lasted one month, just one month on medical leave. He tricked his doctor to sign his return to duty and she did. He came back to the field almost deafened himself three times. Every time I saw him in pain…"

Emily exhaled trying to figure out the words, how could see explain the feeling? Was there any word fitting? "I can't explain it. I just can't. But when the case was over, he decided to drive back to D.C. it was over seven hours. At first I got in the car prepared to go with the others, but I found myself I couldn't, I got out, got in his SUV took the keys and we drove off. Three days, three days pretending to be normal, driving through some magnificent scenery, enjoying the sun on out skin, the sound of birds around us… just acting normal. He kissed me the first night, we went for dinner and we bickered over dessert. He took the spoon away from me and I reached to get it from his hand, but he was leaning forward to me. I thought I forgot how to breathe. I don't know how long we kissed, but when we stopped he leaned towards my ear and whispered to me that maybe we should forget about dessert. He paid the bill and we got out of the restaurant, almost run out, we were spending the night in Ravenswood. A small city on the side of the Ohio River, our hotel had an amazing park right across and we got there, he held my hand the whole time, we found a bench and we sat there watching the sky above us. He told me _'I spend over ten years wondering what would have happened if I asked for your number that night we danced, what would have happened if I talked to you the first time I saw you, coming out of the pool like some kind of mermaid. I don't want to spend another wondering whether my other half was in front of me the whole time or not. I don't want to lose another moment not being with you, the hell with bureau, the hell with the rules I just want to give us a try.'_ I memorized his speech, I also cried. I waited to hear those words from him for so long that I gave up in the end. It was like that, we just were there together and for a short time it was enough. It was really enough."

"What changed?"

"A case in Vegas, two boys kidnapped, one killed and we had a race against time to find the second, we did, after the case we went out for drinks, we had a few too many and we got married. We were walking down the boulevard and there was a chapel on out left, a bar right across and an open mall next to the bar, I didn't even knew those things stayed open 24 hours in Vegas, he took my arm and told me ' _here's where we'll get married, there's where you'll get the dress and I'll get the tux and there is where we'll celebrate. What do you say are gonna be Mrs. Hotchner?'_ ok, you know maybe I lied we weren't that wasted. I wouldn't remember all those details if I was right? Anyway we did, we got married, we woke up the next morning, I was freaking out, completely, and he asked me a question I never thought he would, he asked me if it would be so terrible if stayed married. He told me _'I want everything with you, the kids, the house, to grow old with you. Is it so bad if we give it a try? Let's see how it works and if does, we can always re do the ceremony.'_ So we did. We gave it a try and it worked. It worked well. Too well. I'm not saying we didn't fight, god no, we fought like cats, the whole time, over little things. It was always over though before we got to bed we forgot about it." Her smile faded and slowly fell, leaving a grim expression behind.

"What happened, I sense a story here."

"He got attacked in his apartment by the Boston Reaper, George Foyet. First night, first night I wasn't there. That sick bastard tortured him for hours; he stabbed him nine times, nine freaking times. And he took his time, he taunted him. And leaving he put a target on his ex wife and son. He wouldn't answer his phone, I called and called and called, all went to voicemail. I had enough after a couple of hours calling and got in his apartment, I said that we need more eyes and he should be there. I reached the apartment and called him again, just to be sure that he was there. I heard his ringtone, everything inside me froze, because there was no way he hadn't heard the calls, because that meant that something terrible has happened. Because Aaron never leaves the house without his phone… I opened the door, it was unlocked and barely closed and got in. there were his things, his go bag by the door, his briefcase on the couch, something that always drove me mad but he did it anyway, his holster and gun was on the dining room table, there was a bullet hole above the drink's cabinet from a .44 and no shell casings, there was a stain from scotch on the carpet and I turned my head following the shreds of glass and found a… a pool of his blood on the carpet." Emily felt the tears running down her cheeks freely now. She knew that probably being seen in hysterics by an agency director wasn't the best thing she could do, but couldn't help it. She never talked about it with anyone before.

"I called a friend, our technical analyst and she sent the CSU to process the scene and started looking for him. She found him in a hospital; Foyet drove him there and dropped him off using a coworker's stolen credentials. After he was released we had our biggest fight ever, he wanted me to go in witnesses' protection alongside his ex and his son, I told him that I was a trained FBI agent and it would take so much worse than George Foyet for me to leave him. At first he seemed to agree, and for about two weeks he didn't brought it up again, but then two weeks in his leave he gave me an ultimatum, either I was going to go into witnesses protection or he was done. I got so angry, furious, because that's not something you just decide and expect everyone else to follow, I told him to get his trash from my apartment, where we were living, and get the hell out of my face. I screamed despicable things to him, and the moment the door closed, I felt as if my whole had crushed down, as if I lost everything. Six months after the attack we had almost gone back to normal, we weren't together, but we went back to being friends, having drinks together, watching a couple movies. One night, he told me he never stopped loving me, and that the fact that we weren't together was just because of Foyet, because if he lost me to this psychopath, he'll never recover. We made a promise that the moment Foyet was caught, we'd get back together, and we'd be serious about it this time, we'll talk with bureau, we'll tell the team and our families.

But Foyet wasn't caught Aaron killed him; it was justifiable they fought for I don't know how long. Foyet killed Haley, Aaron's ex over the phone where all of us could hear it. We heard the gunshots going off. And he threatened to kill Jack too. He just couldn't do it if Aaron wasn't there to watch, he wanted to have an audience. I couldn't bring up our promise, it wasn't the time, he had to learn take care of a four year old alone, and with the job we do… it took us two more months. We had a case in San Francisco, working with another team, and an agent there started flirting with me, at first I just didn't care, but my friend JJ kept nagging me that it's been too long since I last got some and that I should get hot British dude with the sexy accent and just jump his bones in the hotel room, Aaron was there, I guess he heard us because he would talk to me for about two weeks afterwards. I realized that the feelings were still there, he was jealous of Mick, the other agent. Exactly two weeks after San Francisco we had a case in Alaska, and the motel only had four rooms. Unknowingly to me and apparently Aaron, the rest of the team had already planned the sleeping arrangements and got us to sleep in the same room. Now the beds were tiny we had to practically sleep on top of each other. Or maybe we ended up like that. I don't really remember. What matters is that we spent two nights there, sleeping in the same bed, I asked him why he wasn't talking to me and when he wouldn't answer I asked him if he was jealous of Mick and he told me _'You're damn right I am, you are my wife damn it!'_

I reminded him that we weren't together and technically I wasn't his wife. I don't really remember how the rest of the fight went; I just remember it was short lived. We kissed and he told me he couldn't live without me. I told him I didn't know what love meant before him. And I didn't, not really. We were good. We talked, we told the team, not the bureau, but we weren't hiding. So maybe they knew, maybe they didn't. But then the whole mess with Doyle happened and I just couldn't put him in risk, and I couldn't really tell him about the mission, because yeah he had a high security clearance but, not nearly high enough. It broke my heart not being able to tell him, but I did it. He helped JJ fake my death, but never once visited me. When JJ and I were flying to Paris she gave me our wedding bands. I knew I lost him then. One thing Aaron can't stand is lying. The only thing he ever asked of me was honesty. And I knew that by not telling him I might lose him and Jack forever, but I hoped that he would understand that maybe he could forgive me. Seven months in hiding were the worse months of my life. Especially after I learned that I was pregnant, Aaron and I were trying to have a baby for months, and Doyle took her from me! I hated him so much, but I begged JJ and the doctors to not put this in the file, I knew that not only the team but Aaron too would get the file and that would kill him. I knew that he probably didn't love me anymore, but I hoped I could at least save him the pain of… of losing a child. I would carry the pain for both of us.

When I got back, everyone tried to act as if nothing happened, and so did I. I acted as if nothing happened and every night leaving work I'd ask myself if I should just drive to our apartment, just drive home, be with him and Jack, and hope the pain lessens a bit, but then I would look myself on the mirror and I'd see the shell of a woman I truly was and I couldn't drag them down with me. I dreaded the day Aaron was going to come asking for a divorce. I dreaded it. I was back for four months when I heard rumors that Aaron found a woman, someone he liked. I saw him going out with her, stalking I know, but when I saw him leaving the building with that big smile of his, anxious to go to her, with the same look he had for me I couldn't stop myself, so I followed him. I did and saw him kissing her. It was Valentine's Day, he got her roses, drove her to a fancy restaurant, held her hand, opened the door for her, just like he used to do for me. I drove home, I cried myself to sleep that night, and the night after and after and after.

When three months later Clyde called with the offer from the London office I didn't have to think about it. JJ got married that day he made me the offer, and Aaron came to the wedding with her, Beth, I met her once before a month ago and I realized that I wasn't what he wanted anymore, I wasn't his other half. I realized he had moved on, while I was stuck there, I couldn't move on… I was trapped. I knew I would get the job. I just knew. That night we danced again and the same feeling I had sixteen years was back, I got it back… that feeling that his hands left an imprint on me, like he marked me as his and only his. I knew then I had to get as far away as I could, and I did. For a year, I settled in London talked with JJ and Penelope, the technical analyst I told you before, sometimes with Derek, my old partner and sometimes Dave, I even got few letters from Spencer, he has technophobia, doesn't have an email. Never Aaron though, but I learned about him. I knew he was happy with Beth. Late June, the next year, our section chief Erin Strauss she was murdered by an UnSub, Dave was in a relationship with her, I went back home to see how he was doing, but this time I was ready, ready to let him go, I had caused him enough pain, so I got the divorce papers ready and I signed them, I couldn't stop myself and I wrote him a letter. I told him everything, how much I loved him, how I'm never going to get over him, how I didn't want to get over what he had because he was the one for me. I told him about out baby and I asked him to forget about me. I gave the letter and the papers to Dave asked him to give them to Aaron as soon as he could and never talk about it again. And I left, thinking I'll never have to look back again. It took Dave three months to give Aaron the papers."

"Was it the family emergency back in September of 2013?"

"Yeah, Aaron had internal bleeding due to the scar tissue from Foyet's stabbing. I went home and drove straight to the hospital thinking that since I didn't get the files back maybe we still had a chance, maybe he still loved me. I saw Beth there, on his bedside I didn't even went into the room I left the hospital running, it took Aaron months to sign the papers, and when he did, it was because Beth asked him to, she left him the same night. Aaron hadn't read the letter I left him with the papers, till after he signed the papers and when he did, he threw them in the shredder. For a little over a month he would call me again and again and I couldn't talk to him, he'd email, write letters. I couldn't read any of them. One day, I don't know why it was early February he called me and I just knew I had to answer. He told me JJ and their new section chief, Cruz, were kidnapped and he needed my help to find them because the state did nothing. That night, after we found them, he pulled me into his office, he told me he was really going to sign the papers and he did, he did thinking that this was something I wanted, but he couldn't do it anymore. He dropped a bag with the shreds of the papers on his desk saying that he was staying married and if I was so hell-bent on getting a divorce I should get another batch of papers but not to expect of him to sign them ' _If you truly want a divorce fine, but don't expect me to just sign away our marriage because I won't. If you don't love me or want to end this fine, do so. But I love you and I don't want to end this.'_ I don't really remember much but I remember that I threw the bag and the paper shreds flew around us, I almost climbed up his desk. Few minutes later, when the whole bliss left I reminded him that I lived in London, and he lived in D.C. and none of us is going to relocate. I wasn't ready to leave London and he wasn't ready to leave the BAU. He told me he was going to ask me each time if I was ready. We agreed to work only on rebuilding our relationship. We needed that. To work on out issues, with ourselves and each other first before trying to be a couple again, we had Jack to think about and we also had to deal with the fact that we did lose our baby. Eleven months… it took us eleven months to work out everything. We were in a good place, then an old mentor of Aaron's died, Jason Gideon, he was shot in the head by a Serial Killer. I got back for the funeral and after when we went to Dave's place for drinks we told them that we got back together. Every time we would see each other Aaron would ask me if I was ready to come home, every time I told him 'no'"

"But this time you told him yes. What changed?"

"Peter Lewis. Last august an UnSub was using two really strong dissociative drugs, he would drug his victims and they'd kill, under his _suggestion_ their loved ones. He mind controlled them. Aaron was his last victim. He fought the drugs and managed to stall Lewis enough for the team to come. He fought against the drugs and didn't hurt anyone. It shock him harder than I've ever seen anything do that. Dave called me the same night asking me if I could get Jack for a couple of weeks in London so Aaron would have time to recover without worrying about Jack. I did, Dave got him on the plane and talked with the stewardess to help him during the flight and after to find the gate and I waited for him right there. I can never thank God enough for his trusting nature. His daddy told him that Emmy wanted to show him London and he would go on a trip with a plane like a man and he just believe him. Didn't ask why Aaron wasn't coming or why I decided to do this now and not at another time, or even why it was so urgent. He got better, shorted out what was real and what was made up by Lewis. Took him some time but he got back to normal. Something in me broke. I realized that life is too short, too precious and too fragile. I went back to the states with Jack and I realized that every time I would board a plane for London, a little something of me would break. I also realized I wasn't ready to go back to the states full time either. It was a mess." Emily turned her eyes towards the window; all she could see was the ocean below. She wanted for the trip to end, she needed to see if Jack was alright, she needed to see Aaron, make sure he is alright; she needs to make sure that they'll get him out. She needs to put her life back together because right now is in shreds.

"But something made you to go back. Something happened that pushed you to return here." Emily leaned back in her chair trying to remember what was it, what was that something that made her come back. She wasn't entirely sure, maybe it was the fact that she couldn't deal with being away from her family, a network of hit men put a price on Penelope's head, a psychopath kidnapped Derek, he tried to kill his wife and son. The world was going to hell and she wasn't there. Maybe it was that… maybe it was because she was getting older…she was getting older and the dream of growing old with Aaron was starting to fade, it would if she didn't go back, she would never ask him to give up the BAU and move to London. Even if he did, it wasn't as if they would have any kind of normality in their lives. She would still be running the London field office and he would… he would defiantly find something else to do, with his skill set she was sure he would, but she was also sure that it would have been a surrogate for the BAU, just like her job was.

"I think…life was moving on, I am not getting any younger, neither is he. We had a dream when we got married, a dream of a happy life, we wanted kids, for Jack to have a brother or a sister, maybe both, we wanted to get a house in the suburban, we knew we couldn't have the American dream, but we had our own dream. And even if all those didn't work, all we needed to be happy was being there for the other, patch up the other's wounds after the fight. I realized I wasn't there. I realized that if something terrible happened to Aaron, I wouldn't be there till… till it was too late. His job is terrible and dangerous and… he plays his life heads or tails each time he is in the field, I could literally loose him every given moment. I just didn't want to leave my boys behind anymore." Emily raised her eyes and looked at Robert, his black eyes were soft, a smile was grazing his thin lips. "It was a beautiful story. I really hope things work out with you two. You deserve it."

 **A/N: Chapter 3 is done! Hope you liked it. As always let me know! Next chapter we'll get a bit more into the actual problem, (Hotch being in jail!). We'll also see Hotch and more of the team.**

 **Till next time, Bye!**

 **AAAAAND the sneak peak!**

 _As soon as the whole team was in the conference room, Dave nodded to Kevin to shut down the camera feed, the things he wanted to tell them weren't for the bureau's ears, after all his speculation was just that… speculations!_


	5. Just Speculations… or not?

**Chapter 4: Just Speculations… or not?**

 **A/N: Here is chapter 4, it's more focused on the case, there is less Hotchniss and Jack-Penelope-Henry, more team work. Kevin, Cruz and Anderson play a role too. And some old friends as well, because you know me, I love some old friends reappearing...**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

 _Previously_

 _Emily raised her eyes and looked at Robert, his black eyes were soft, a smile was grazing his thin lips. "It was a beautiful story. I really hope things work out with you two. You deserve it."_

Chapter 4

As soon as the whole team was in the conference room, Dave nodded to Kevin to shut down the camera feed, the things he wanted to tell them weren't for the bureau's ears, after all his speculations were just that… speculations!

"Kevin?" the younger man raised his left hand and kept typing with his right "Not yet agent Rossi" he murmured under his breath. "Ok now!"

"What's going on Dave? Have you found something?" Tara was sitting across from Dave, she leaned forward to her chair.

"I know they want us to investigate Hotch and find out why he wanted to bomb the building but frankly that makes zero sense to me. We are asking all the wrong questions. It's not why would Hotch bomb the building, it's how he would do it. He wouldn't be a suicide bomber, he had no signs of depression, and we all talked to him, he was over the moon when Emily decided to move back in the country, this is one of his high moment, not his lows. We also know that he wouldn't hurt any of us."

"Not intentionally that is." JJ said. All the heads in the room snapped at her. "That's it!" Tara said "What?" Kevin looked puzzled, he had worked with them but it was seriously difficult to follow their way of thinking

"Hotch wouldn't hurt any of us _intentionally_ , that's the key he wouldn't do it on own accord. You guys had an UnSub last year, Peter Lewis, he drugged Hotch right. What if he planned a trigger in him, a word or a scent, something that would trigger that response from him."

"Sage!" JJ stood up from her chair "When I was in Hotch's apartment it smelled like Sage and he told me about this new neighbor that burned sage the whole day because she would claim that evil spirits possessed the building."

"Wasn't that what you and Hotch had used on one of Lewis' victims?" Dave looked at Tara, something in him clicked. "Yeah, Christine McNeil the drug had such effect on her mind that she snapped, we only got her to break out of it by burning sage, JJ you've been to Hotch's place a few times now, have you noticed anything different? Anything out of place, anything else other than the sage, anything at all to indicate that Hotch might actually was planning on doing so?"

"Of course not! How could you say that?" JJ was furious at Dave, she got up from her chair and turned at the older man with her fist curled.

"Jennifer, I am not saying that I believe that, but IA and Homeland security and the NSA and CIA if I know them well enough do need to know. And before we go on and indulge ourselves in a witch hunt we need to prove to them that Aaron is innocent. They don't know him, they don't know that he would never do that and our word is not enough. Until Aaron comes back I am the leader of this team and you do have to follow what I tell you. So you and Reid go back to Aaron's apartment and try to remember if you saw something unusual, go through his desk, his computer, his phone, his tablet even his DVR and find everything you can to prove either his innocence or his guilt." Reid nodded and took JJ's arm, pulling her gently away from Rossi before she changes her mind and decides to rip his head off. "Tara, I need you to give it another try and talk to Jack, get him to trust you…"

"That's not necessary agent Rossi, Dave, I'll do it. Henry likes me a lot and Jack already didn't talk to Tara, I don't think that's gonna change now." Tara looked at the door; Kevin had shrunk down the chair praying that by some miracle he'll become invisible "Chief Cruz?" Matt walked farther into the room and shut the door behind him, "I don't believe that Hotch would ever do what they think, I do believe that this is some sort of…set up. Officially I can't get involved in the investigation, but unofficially I'll just be Uncle Matt visiting his godson, now the fact that his brother and best friend are there, and they happen to Henry LaMontagne and Jack Hotchner is totally irrelevant." The smile that crossed his features was all Dave and Tara needed to tell them exactly how irrelevant the visit would be.

"Alright Chief Cruz, I am sure Michael would love to see you." the two men shake hands and Cruz left after saying goodbye and good luck to all. As soon as the door close a sign of relieve was heard around the room. "Is he always like that?" Tara asked, this was one of the first encounters she had with their 'unique' Section Chief.

"Oh trust me bella, he can be so much worse."

xxx

Tara followed Dave in his office; they shut the door and the blinds and sat down on the couch across from his desk.

"We need to talk to Jessica too." Dave said, they were trying to keep their voices down, they knew from experience that even the walls in this building have ears and eyes. "Yeah, she spends the most time with the Hotchners, but we also need a backup plan in case Cruz fails to get Jack to open up to him" Dave gave her one of his enigmatic smiles "Don't worry our backup plan is landing in about an hour" Tara looked puzzled "Remember Emily Prentiss?" Tara's expression changed to a one saying 'Clearly!' "Well, she is Aaron's wife and Jack's stepmom, he loves her, the little guy had a crush on her when he was younger, even proposed to her with a ring he made at school in art class. It was hilariously sweet. So when Cruz fails, and he will, because Jack is a mini Aaron, Emily will be there to get him to open up, you'll see it… she might even get him to come here. She has him wrapped around her little finger. Well, both of them." Tara laughed; she would never believe that her hard ass of a boss would even be whipped by a woman, but the moment she saw him following Emily Prentiss around like a lost puppy in Morgan's wedding she knew he was beyond whipped. And then of course was the New York case, where he said no, she said yes and they did what she said anyway. She liked seeing that version of him, happier, lighter; he had a different rhythm to his steps since that case. A smile lingered more on his lips, his eyes seemed happier, he went out with them more often, catered Penelope's every whim, let Reid perform Physics-Magic in the bullpen, even asked the young genius to show him some, he even got her flowers for her birthday last week. Not to mention that he was always leaving work on time, when was the last time this ever happened?

"It's not just JJ that needs to remember everything about Hotch's behavior. We need to too. After the copycat case he changed, although it was for the better, we need to know why he was that happy go lucky version of himself."

"Well Aaron told me that Emily decided to move back in the states and he let something slip that she might be coming back to the BAU too, to cover Morgan's position, but after the slip no matter how many times I asked him he wouldn't say a word."

"That would explain his change in behavior in the last weeks" she saw the puzzled look on Dave's face and continued "He would cater Garcia's every whim, he let Reid perform Physics-Magic in the bullpen and asked him to show him some tricks, he brought me flowers in my birthday last week, he started going out with us more often, and last week when we went out for my birthday he even shared stories with us, from his personal life. Not to mention that for the last three weeks we would go home at exactly 5:30 PM, unless we had a case. When was the last time he did that?"

"Bella, you are right. He was happy, he was also losing up. Aaron doesn't do that, at least not on the job. And remember two weeks ago that case in California? On the ride home JJ blasted the music and started dancing in the plane, he wouldn't allow this… last time someone did this was in August of 2009 when we were coming back from probably the worst case we ever had. Back then JJ had tried to cheer up Garcia and the rest of us too. She had also blasted the music and dragged everyone up to dance with her. That was seven years back. He never allowed anything like that since then."

"Hotch changed in the last three weeks, he changed for the better, he was getting a better life, his wife was moving back in the states, his son is healthy, his job was on track… he had so many things to live for, and fight for. The claim that he would throw everything down the drain is ridiculous; we need to see who had a grudge against Hotch. The only reason why he would ever choose that moment is if someone else chose it for him. If you want to destroy someone, when is better than when they are in their best?"

xxx

The rest of the trip to D.C. was quiet for both Emily and Robert, she hated to admit it but he was right, she had so many things piled up inside her that she needed to talk about them. But on the other hand there were some memories that she still wasn't sure how to handle, how you handle losing a child? How you handle finding a crime scene in your apartment? Or finding your husband almost dead in a hospital? Or any of the madness she and Aaron faced daily? Was she ready to go back to the same madness? She always said that her life was her work, the BAU, but that was before she had Aaron and Jack, was the BAU worth losing them? Losing spending time with them? She wasn't that sure she was sure that she wanted to spent time with them, but she wasn't ready to be a housewife. That would defiantly not end well…

They landed in Ronald Reagan airport in exactly five and half hours after leaving London, Emily looked at her watch it said 10:30 PM that meant it was around 5:30PM here.

"Emily!" she turned and saw Robert calling her.

"Robert."

"I hope everything works out; if you need any help, don't hesitate." He gave her a card with his cell phone written in the back "Thank you."

She turned on her heel and started walking fast to the front of the airport where she knew the cabs would be. She needed to go to Garcia's and fast, her friend was reaching her breaking point with three kids there, and out of them the two wouldn't even talk to her honestly. She also needed to see Aaron but she knew that wouldn't happen as easily and after all, seeing and talking with Jack will be far more beneficial for everyone.

XXX

Matt had tried everything, he tried talking to them kindly, tried the official, tried the friendly, he tried every fucking route he could think of. Not only Jack but Henry too wouldn't say a word to him. He even went home first to change out of his suit. He even got Penelope to call him Matt… well he was at his fucking wits end.

"There you go Matt." He took the glass Penelope was offering, the cup was steaming and he brought the brown liquid to his nose and smelled the aroma "What the fff…frack is that?" he was about to swear but caught himself, apparently Penelope Garcia threatening to wash his mouth with soap was far more scary than JJ doing it.

"Herbal tea, you need it, too tense!" he didn't bother arguing with her, he took the mug in his hands again and took a sip from the dark liquid. It tasted like mud to him and there was nothing calming about it. It was scalding hot and it burned his tongue, and the muddy texture stuck on his throat "scheisse" he swore, he couldn't stop it, but at least he hoped that if the kids didn't know what he was saying his mouth would stay untouched by the crazy blonde.

"Did you just swear in German?" she asked him "sikme" he said under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Fuck in Turkish."

"How many languages do you know?"

"Swearing in? Too many…"

xxx

He watched Dr. Lewis and Agent Rossi walk into the second's office; he saw them closing the door and the blinds. He knew that they would go through everything Agent Hotchner went through in the last three weeks and find exactly zero, nada, zilch that would indicate his "need" to blow up the building. Oh he knew that…after all who in their right mind would ever think that SSAIC Aaron Hotchner, sticker for rules extraordinaire would ever do that. He seriously started to question the intelligence of the people who were supposed to protect them, if these morons protected the U.S.A. no wonder everything went to hell at least once a week.

He let the Alpha team handle on their profiles and interviews and whatever and he took the more practical route. Everyone might think that he wasn't that attached to them but he would never forget that Aaron Hotchner, not only got him in the BAU, but saved his job after the incident with Agent Greenaway's shooting. Any other Unit Chief would have his head in a silver platter, not Hotchner though. He was grateful to the man and really liked him too.

He went through his contacts and found the names he was looking for, the alpha team was short handed and they needed more people.

And Grant Anderson was going to give them just that…

XXX

 **A/N: Much shorter this one, but I'm not that good at writing the whole case thing. I'll try but still…**

 **Next we have the talk between Emily and Jack, what has the little boy seen? We'll see the help Anderson called for the team and a shocker from Emily…**

 **As always let me know if you liked it or not.**

 **Till next time, Bye!**

 **A small sneak peak? Yes?**

 **Alright here it is!**

 _The door bell startled Matt awake, he looked around him and saw that he was lying on a purple couch, but he didn't own a fucking purple couch! Where the fuck was he? The person on the door kept ringing and he thought they were drilling his brain out. He got up and walked to the door, since when his fucking apartment had a pink door? When he saw the angry face of the brunet on the other side of the door he realized just how not at home he was…_

 _"_ _E… agent Prentiss?"_


	6. The talk!

**Chapter 5: The talk!**

 **A/N: Here is chapter 5, "slightly" bigger than the last, hope you'll like it!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer in chapter 1.**

 _Previously_

 _He went through his contacts and found the names he was looking for, the alpha team was short handed and they needed more people._

 _And Grant Anderson was going to give them just that…_

Chapter 5

The door bell startled Matt awake, he looked around him and saw that he was lying on a purple couch, but he didn't own a fucking purple couch! Where the fuck was he? The person on the door kept ringing and he thought they were drilling his brain out. He got up and walked to the door, since when his fucking apartment had a pink door? When he saw the angry face of the brunet on the other side of the door he realized just how not at home he was…

"E… agent Prentiss?" Emily looked at the man a few times. His hair were sticking right and left, his Star Wars shirt wrinkled, she also detected something in his eyes that she hoped it was just from sleep. "Are you stoned?"

"What? No! What? I just had one of those herbal shit teas Garcia has. That thing fucked me up I dozed off in the couch!" the man stepped aside and let Emily come in. "Go wash your face you look like death warmed over." Cruz left and went towards the bathroom, Emily knew exactly what Penelope had done, she probably made her "Special" herbal tea and the poor guy was probably almost stoned. "Jack?" she looked around the apartment, Jack's coat wasn't there, but she did found his duffel bag by the bedroom door, on the bed there were crayons and papers scattered around, she picked an envelope from the bed, Jack's messy handwriting on it saying "for daddy" she turned the envelope over, normally she would ask Jack if she could see it but time was running out and she couldn't afford to lose any more. She pulled from the envelope a beautifully painted picture of the park they usually are going when she is in the states too, as she looked at the picture she saw Haley's talent for painting had stuck to her son as well. She smiled brightly at the picture on the card, it was their last picnic, after Morgan's wedding, they all had spent the day in the park, enjoying the sunny day, it was an amazing day to be outside, the sun was warm, it wasn't raining and everyone seemed to be so happy. She opened the card and saw that Jack had written a small letter to his father, she was compelled to read it, she knew she should but she couldn't bring herself to break the boy's trust that badly. She carefully folded the card again and placed it back in the envelope putting it back on the bed.

She walked back in the living room, the room, as well as the house just screamed Garcia, purple walls, purple couch, pink, black and purple carpet and purple with black curtains. She smiled widely at her friends taste. It was so unique, so Garcia…

"What the fuck was inside that shit?" Emily bit her lower lip looking at the man in front of her, he was a bit better now but still… "Well its Garcia's special blend, she never told us what exactly it has but it's not wise to drink it. Unless you want to fall asleep." He groaned and fell back in the couch, "Vete a la mierda" Emily smiled and decided to mess with him a bit "No gracias" his eyes widened and he raised his head to look at her, "Please tell me you haven't taught Jack Spanish because I've been swearing in other languages the whole day to avoid getting my mouth washed."

XXXX

"Hey, it's Grant, Anderson from the BAU?"

"Oh hey Grant, how is everyone? I haven't talked to JJ or Rossi, or Reid in ages!"

"They are all well, as well as they can be. We need you to come back, soon."

"Something happened?"

"Yeah, I can't really tell over the phone but it's Hotch. How soon can you be on a flight from Boston?"

XXXX

Emily heard Jack's voice from the hallway and run to the door, as soon as she opened it the little boy and his companion froze in their spots "Emmy!" Jack run to her and hugged her waist tight, Emily lowered herself to his height kneeling and wrapped her little man in an equally tight hug. "Hey baby"

"I missed you Emmy." Penelope, who had Michael in her arms and Henry clutching her left hand smiled at the picture in front of her. She knew that a woman can be a mother even if she never had children but actually seeing it happen to one of her best friends was amazingly moving. "We did miss you Em." Emily raised her head and smiled at Penelope. "So did I P.G." she got up taking Jack in her arms, the boy had grown a lot since the last time she did this but he still wouldn't let her go so she thought why not.

"Jack, baby we need to talk remember?" Jack nodded his head before he hid his face in her neck. "How about we go to Aunt Penelope's bedroom?"

"Ok Emmy." His voice was muffled and she smiled at him although she knew he couldn't see her. "Say bye to Uncle Matt, he needs to go to work now." Jack said his goodbyes to Matt who left the house whispering to Garcia that they'll have a chat about her "special" herbal tea and the duo walked in Garcia's bedroom. Emily closed the door behind her, although she knew that she'll have to share what Jack tells her with the rest of the team she needed to give Jack a sense of privacy. She let the boy on the ground and they both walked to the bed sitting on Garcia's fluffy light blue blanket.

"Jack are you ok baby? You are too silent." Emily placed her index finder under the little boy's chin and raised his eyes to her face. She missed seeing him every day so much, he had grown so much since the last time she remembers him, although the last time was just three weeks ago and she knows that this is not possible, at Jack's age kids don't grow up that much in three weeks, but then again, they don't normally see their father arrested in their living room either.

"Emmy, am I really going to see daddy ever again?" she saw the pain and hurt in his eyes, all those things he went through in the past years weighing on him, he was too young to see his parents divorcing, he was too young to see his father in a hospital bed with stitches all over his body, he was too young to lose his mother, he was too young to see his father almost losing his mind, he was too young to see his father arrested in front of him. He was too young, period.

"I can't promise you that, but I can promise that me and the rest of the team we'll do everything we can so you will. Baby your dad is great man, he is good and kind and loyal, no matter what you'll hear about him you know him better than these people. The FBI will want your statement and they'll do whatever they have to, to get it, I don't want them but in order to stop them I really need you to talk to me. Can you do this?" Jack nodded his head and Emily smiled shyly. "Good, why didn't you talk to Uncle Dave, or Uncle Spence, or even Aunt Penelope or Miss Tara?" the boy in front of her didn't answer, his brow frowned in the same way Aaron does when he's thinking. Emily had started forgetting how similar the two of them were.

"I didn't trust them. You always say that we are a family and families help each other. If we are a family then why didn't they help daddy. Aunt JJ was there but she didn't do anything to help. Why? She could have stopped them; she could have told them that daddy wouldn't have done this."

"Jack, baby, Aunt JJ couldn't do anything; you and Henry were there too. If she did that she would have been arrested or hurt, and then who would have taken care of you two guys? You can't blame aunt JJ for that. She did what she had to do to keep you two safe. These men in the house, they had orders to do what they did, nothing was going to stop this. Alright?" Jack nodded a bit reluctantly, "Now, I want you to think real hard has daddy changed at all in the last months. Did he have any new friends?"

"No, he was happier because you were coming back; he was coming home earlier too. We would study together, and he took a day off to come with me to a science convention for school, he didn't have any new friends, Uncle Dave came over for pizza, sometimes, Aunt JJ and Uncle Will too."

"Any strange phone calls, anyone taking an interest in you at school or a new face at the soccer practice. Anything different or strange, anything out of the ordinary at all? Think, ok, think." Jack stayed silent for a few moments. His mouth twitching "No, well, there were a few calls a couple weeks back but when Aunt Jessica got them they would hang up and we told daddy but the calls stopped a week ago." Emily nodded; this whole thing seemed strange for her although she had to admit that the hang up calls were a little too strange. "Ok, did your dad change his behavior at all? You know maybe stopped doing something he used to do a lot, or picked up another hobby?" she was just fishing right now, she hated doing this, she was practically using the trust the little boy in front of her had in her to get the answers she needed (wanted).

"No, we started running, and we biked together. He said he might take place in this year triathlon again." Emily chuckled, always trust on Aaron to find the weirdest thing he could find as a hobby.

"Did he stopped ordering pizza all the time too?" she smirked knowing that there was no way Aaron was going to quit pizza, even though she was nagging him about getting older and that he needed to take more care in his diet. "Not entirely, but in the last three weeks we only ate pizza…" Jack paused and counted in his fingers the times Aaron had ordered in his greasy death "Only nine times." She calculated everything, including on the fact that since she had left for London after the copycat case Aaron only left Virginia once, that was probably eighteen to nineteen days of him being home at dinner. So only nine nighttime pizza dinners out of eighteen dinners that was a pretty good change. "I'm impressed!"

XXXX

"Hey, how's the little guy?"

"Oh he is a sweetheart Anderson. How is everyone? I miss you guys to death!"

"So do we! When are you coming back to us? It's been a year already! Your men and your little lady had you to themselves enough! Just come back!"

"Oh Grant you're cute! Don't worry pal, I'll be back in couple months."

"Yeah, here's the thing we really need you now. We've had… a situation… with Hotch. We need all hands on deck. So are you game?"

"Is he alive?"

"Yeah, I wish it was that simple."

"I'll be in Quantico in thirty."

"Thanks I'll wait"

XXXX

Dave's been watching Anderson from his office for the last three hours, the agent was calling nonstop, to whom he had no clue but his secretiveness really bothered him. And although his gut wasn't always the most reliable it was telling him that there was something going on with the agent.

"Anderson! My office NOW!" The younger man dropped the phone from his hands and got up from the desk in lightening speed. He straightened his jacket and walked towards the catwalk and Rossi's office, his hands were slightly sweating, he was always a little terrified of the older profiler, not as much as he was of Jason Gideon but still really terrified.

"Take a seat!" his voice was commanding, Anderson sat down on the chair on the opposite side of Rossi's desk "Is there anything I can do for you Agent Rossi?" he was surprised at how calm his own voice sounded although everything inside him was shaking. "Cut the crap Anderson, we have an all hands on deck, one of our own is accused of treason and terrorism and all you did the whole day was whisper on the phone. What's more important that proving the innocence of your boss?" Rossi's accusing tone took him aback; he expected to be asked questions about what he was doing the whole day with his cell practically sown on his ear but not like this.

"I don't get the accusing tone agent Rossi. What I've been doing the whole day is trying to help agent Hotchner just like you are, but I didn't came here to accuse you of actually wasting time. I might not be an active profiler but I took the classes too. I chose not to be in the field so far, not because I can't but because I wasn't ready. You've been wasting time. The answer isn't on why he would do it or how. The answer is who and you've been losing time trying to answer all those question with your three profilers, one technical analyst and one criminal psychologist. Don't you see? The person behind this had obviously the means and you have half a unit, you are right agent Rossi we do have an all hands on deck and that's what I've been doing this whole day. I've been getting hands." In a moment of brave foolishness Anderson got up and walked out of Dave's office without uttering another word. He knew he was probably fired but he also did it. He finally stood up to Dave Rossi.

XXXX

"Cruz!"

"Hey Matt, I heard the rumors is it true that Hotch got arrested?" Matt signed and fell back to his chair. "It's true Katie, it's true, I… I don't know what to do. I've got half a unit, Rossi went at Anderson and JJ almost ripped his head off, they are all at each others' throats. It's… I never really understood how much Hotch holds them together. He isn't just their Unit Chief. He… the team won't survive without him, if he won't come back, none of them will and frankly I don't see me sticking around for long either." He sounded defeated, worn out. he got up from his chair and walked to the window looking at the rain falling hard on the windows, it was late May, the weather was usually good but today, today it was as if the nature was mourning for what was happening.

"Do you need help?" he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, days like these he wished the god damn windows would open, just so he could feel the raindrops on his face, the wind, the cold. He needed to feel something, anything… he needed to feel alive, not these state of half arsed life he had going on in the last days. This job was hard enough, the alpha team was always the least of his problems, they were the ones that despite the darkness they face daily would make everyone else laugh and smile. They were the beacons of life and happiness while the rest of them were drowning.

"I do. I do Katie, I need so much help." His voice broke and he wasn't ashamed one bit when the tears fell from his eyes.

XXXX

Spencer took searching Hotch's office, while JJ offered to go through his bedroom, he was secretly glad she did because he wasn't comfortable going through his boss' underwear drawer. He had looked over the whole room; the counter terrorism agents had quite literally trampled all over the place, Hotch was going to be so pissed when he comes back and finds that they broke two of his framed pictures. So mad…

He walked to his desk and sat down on the chair, he immediately got up as if some sort of static electrism hit him, or maybe because he was half expecting Hotch to come in and kill him for touching his stuff.

"You know Hotch isn't going to kill you if you sit on his chair, those asswholes who broke the frames on those two pictures though… I hope they booked a ticket with NASA to Mars or somewhere." JJ chuckled darkly and walked to desk dropping down on the chair across from Spencer

"Kepler-452b"

"What?"

"Mars is close, they need to immigrate to Kepler-452b, he is 1.6 times the size of the Earth and the scientists in NASA have said that has the best chances of actually having rocky ground , it's 1400 light years away. I think that's a safe distance." JJ smiled at Spencer's joke. he smiled too, the smile never reaching his face "I miss him too JJ" that made JJ break, all the resilience she had, all the strength she gathered all day, first for Henry and Jack, then for Penelope, then for the team and last for Hotch, because he needed her at her best not the emotional wreck she had been those last days, all flew out the window, she broke down and let everything out.

"I was right there Spence, right there and I froze, they broke the door and I only managed to grab Henry and Jack, they got… oh my god, they got him on his knees. Hotch, the most proud man I've seen they made him get on his knees in front of Jack. I remember thinking that this is a mistake; this has to be a mistake or a joke, a very sick one but a joke. And then Jack tried to run to Hotch to hug him and the SWAT agents dragged him up the floor, pulled him on his feet, pulling him from his arms… and all I remember is holding him back. And now they hate me Spence. My own son too, Henry wouldn't look at me in the eyes… my baby wouldn't look at me in the eyes. I don't know what to do. I solely relay on Emily actually changing their minds otherwise… I just want things to go back normal again, the way they were few days ago, when Hotch was happy and with us and Henry and Jack were playing loudly on the living room. Is that too much to ask?" Spence walked around the desk and pushed the other chair closer to JJ, "Listen to me JJ, there was nothing you could do to stop them. They were here to arrest Hotch, were they a little too rough, yes, but that's their job. The SWAT unit isn't famous for their finesse, but the higher ups like them because they get the job done. We did too you know, we used them because they get the job done. This is a lesson for all of us. That means you too. You are a mother first JJ, you love those boys, we all do. Your first instinct was to protect them from the SWAT team, because you knew that out of the four of you Hotch was in least danger from them. I don't think he would have been pleased if you let Jack and Henry alone, scared and crying and went after him trying to stop the unstoppable. Rossi was right; the best way to help Hotch is to prove first his non guilt and then his innocence. Alright?" he offered her his handkerchief to clean up and he walked back to the other side of the desk "We need to get into his laptop but it's locked."

"His password is his and Emily's wedding date. October 27th, 2008" JJ said and Spencer typed the code. The computer's screen came to life and he smiled at the picture on his background "What?"

"His background picture is the one we got in Morgan's wedding." He said his voice soft, he turned to screen to JJ and she smiled, his desktop was one of the cleanest he had seen and it allowed all of their faces to be seen clearly. The all had bright smiles on their faces that day. They were so happy it was ridiculous "Another year like that might kill me" Spencer whispered, she turned and looked at the man in front of her "I know. I know" she turned the computer back to him, feeling already too much like a creep having gone through her friend's closet and drawers.

"He has a file called BAU Team, but it seems to be encrypted. I tried the same password as before but it's not working" he kept typing and talking, JJ felt the air stuck in her throat cutting her airway as if someone chocked her. "Strange."

"What?"

"I used Jack's birthday, his first wedding date, his birthday, Emily's birthday, the date his joined the BAU, the day he joined the bureau, even the date of Haley's death but nothing works. There is something wrong in this file. It looks… odd. I think we need to get the computer back at the BAU have Garcia take a look, or Kevin." JJ got up and grabbed Hotch's briefcase from where he dropped it a day ago.

"Gather everything I'll call Garcia."

XXXX

"Did they finally crash?" Garcia asked Emily when she came out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her softly.

"Yeah, poor guys were exhausted. It's a wonder they stayed up that long." She sat on the couch next to Penelope and buried her head in her hands. This was not how she wanted her return to the states to be. She wanted to be able to sleep in her own bed, with her husband, she wanted him to hold her and kiss her. She came back to be with him and now everything went straight to hell. She was angry at whoever was doing this, she didn't really believe in God not anymore, but whoever was pulling their strings was taking a sick pleasure in torturing them. She had fucking enough! She needed her happy ending and she needed it now. She was tired of waiting and wasting time. She lost him too many times already and she wasn't going to accept the whole star crossed lovers, bound to love each other from afar, after all they tried that scenario too and it didn't work out either.

"I'm so glad you are back." Emily raised her head and looked at the red, puffy eyes of her friend. "Oh Pen" she hugged the blond woman who immediately wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Emily could feel as well as hear Penelope's soft sobs wrecking her already tired body and her tears soaking her shirt. "I'm glad to be back too. I only wish it was better time."

"Yeah me too." The two of them sat in complete silence for few minutes. It's been a tough day, too tough. It was like one of these days that just nothing goes right.

"You seem tired, why don't you crash too?" Penelope asks her, Emily whispered no and just got up and walked to the window "What I have isn't going away with sleeping."

"You miss Hotch don't you?"

"Yeah." Emily stayed with her back to her friend afraid that if she faces her she won't keep her secret from her; it's not that she doesn't miss her husband, she does miss him but it's not what's causing her to look tired, or exhausted.

No, no the real reason behind her sudden lack of energy is far from that…

XXXX

"Penelope, hey it's JJ, look did Emily came over? She did. Good, we need you at the BAU pronto; we found something in Hotch's computer. No idea PG, it's an encrypted file and we need those magical fingers of yours. Alright, that's great, how're the kids? They did! Oh finally. Yeah see ya PG." JJ hanged up the phone as soon as Spencer was finishing in the study and walking out of the room.

"Everything alright at Garcia's?" he asked, he was holding Hotch's briefcase in his left hand, a sign so wrong in JJ's eyes, but chose not to comment on it.

"Yeah, the boys finally went to sleep. Emily landed just fine, she's over at PG's now Jack talked to her she said she'll be in the BAU tomorrow morning. You all done?" she asked, she wanted to get the hell out of this house, get the hell out and never step foot inside ever again.

"Yeah, all set up, let's go" they walked out of the apartment, JJ first, she stepped out, not giving a second glance inside, and marched out of the building as fast as her feet could carry her without running. Reid stayed back a bit, giving her the time she needed to process all that happened, what a big mess their lives had became. He locked the door and followed JJ out of the building and in the car.

The ride back to Quantico was a silent one, it wasn't awkward or anything like that just silent. After all silence is good, silence allows you to think, to compartmentalize, and she desperately needed that. They both did, only Spencer never admitted it.

JJ parked the car in the usual spot in the garage and got out of it not waiting for Spencer to do the same. The young man followed her slowly; he didn't want to be back in the BAU any more than she did. Amazing how much Hotch not being there had affected them all. If someone, anyone, looked at their group they'd never pick Hotch as the person who makes things easier for the rest. Most would pick Garcia, with her loud voice, bright colors and her muffins, cakes, drinks and pizzas in the bullpen waiting for them after a hard case, or JJ with her guitar and spontaneous dancing recitals pretty much everywhere, the plane, the bullpen, the hotel. It didn't really matter to her that much. Defiantly not Hotch, but he was, he was taking up extra paperwork so they won't have to, and he's always there for them, always willing to listen to them, always sticking his neck out for them. It's like he cares more about them than himself and to some extent it was true.

He caught up on JJ as she waited for the elevator ride and stood next to her, both of them looked ahead, knowing full well that the eyes of the agents leaving the building to go home were stuck on their backs, they knew what they were thinking, what they were saying, they all had heard the rumors. They were called fouls for sticking with Hotch, thickheads, even traitors, so quick those coworkers of theirs to give the verdict on a man that they don't even know.

"JJ"

"Not now Spence."

"Don't make me to stop the elevator Jennifer!" JJ knew when a fight was lost and right now she had lost this one.

"Hotch isn't guilty, you know that and I know that and what those baboons think isn't important." She smiled slightly at his words he always had a way of using the right words, her little boy wonder.

"I know." They both leaned back to the metal wall and waited till they reached the sixth floor…

XXXX

She got stuck in traffic, of course she was… it was as if the universe was taunting her, of all the days to get caught in traffic today was the worst day possible, she left the house running hastily strapping her gun in her waist and her backup in her ankle holster, grabbing her credentials and her go bag. She told her husband she didn't know how long she'll need to be in Quantico, she told him that Hotch was probably in trouble and left. He understood, she was so thankful he did, but on the other side they really did own to Hotch a lot, all of them did.

When she finally reached the academy and parked her car in the garage she sat there frozen, a quick glance at the clock in front of her told her that she took three hours to come from her home in Lake Ridge to Quantico, it was insane, this was a thirty minute drive, but nooo today had to be the day that all the drunk dump shits had to go on a road trip. She witnessed a major car crash on I-95 S and was delayed there for almost two hours till they cleaned the road enough for them to pass. This was a mess, she had tried calling Anderson about ten times already, she called JJ too, even Morgan, no one was answering. They were all driving her mental. Oh, if they were messing with her she was going to shoot them in the head, federal offices be damned. They'll have earned the bullets. They can't be _that_ messed up seriously, she has a barely old son at home they wouldn't do that.

Taking a deep breath she got out of the car and walked to the elevators, her head high, her boots clicking unforgiving on the concrete beneath her feet. She felt powerful, as if she was going to slay any dragon that might come her way. And she was… she was more than ready for some slaying…

XXXX

Her mother had a saying; it's when you need something that everything falls apart. She packed a bag and kissed her husband on the lips softly before she bolted out of the door, in her car and straight to the airport. She reached there demanding for a ticket, she wasn't kind, she knew that but something bad enough had happened to Hotch, bad enough for Anderson to call her; she _HAD_ to be there as soon as possible. The young man in the counter stuttered that there were no available tickets to D.C. and she seriously thought of throwing a tantrum she really missed her credentials right now. She told him she wasn't going anywhere and he better finds her a ticket in the next two hours or else. Threatening is low and a horrible thing to do but the hell with everything, she needed to be in DC yesterday.

The boy did it, he found her a ticket to Dulles and after two hours of waiting she was finally sitting on the plane on her way back to DC. She'll never admit it to anyone but she regrets leaving them behind, yes she had a good life with her husband and not playing her life heads or tails each time she comes to work is an added bonus but she won't lie, if she was ever given the chance to come back… she would.

They landed in Dulles with only minor delays, it was late though, almost 10:30 PM, she needed a shower, smelling like the airport she resided for hours wasn't something that she liked, but what she needed more was to find out exactly what had happened to Hotch, she knew that it couldn't have been something happy, if it was it would have been Hotch who would have called beaming, not Anderson whispering.

She took a cab from the airport to the FBI Academy and told the driver to get her there as soon as possible because she was late. He made small talk about the damn airliners never on time and she just nodded, the man probably had no clue… it was better that way. He was smart though and he stopped trying to make small talk with her after seeing her reluctance to speak. The rest of the drive to Quantico was a silent one and she couldn't be more thankful. Wonderful silence what a great friend you can be…

XXXX

He had just put his son to bed, the baby was extra fuzzy tonight, colicky baby wasn't a happy one. His wife (he'll never get used to saying that) had just came back from work and was currently waiting for him in front of the turned off TV in the living room with a glass of red wine, he smiled, life was good. It was finally good and peaceful… not that he didn't miss his former life, the BAU, the FBI, the thrill, knowing that the world was a little bit safer because of what he did. Hopefully he'll go back there one day, bless Hotch for actually talking him into taking the extended time off instead of the retirement package. Nothing get's by that man. He was walking down the stairs when he heard the sound of glassed shattering in the living room and the frantic calls of his wife following it screaming for him to come there right _NOW_. His blood froze, years into law enforcement he knew those sounds never meant anything good. And he did, he bolted down the stairs and turned his head frantically around trying to find the danger, no windows were broken though, and his wife was standing there without blood coming out of anywhere, but with tears running down her cheeks… wait… tears?

"Baby what's wrong?" he asks and walks to her wrapping his arms around her.

"Pen… Penelope called… Hotch was arrested for treason and terrorism." Then his blood had run cold…

XXXX

Anderson had went to the bathroom and took out his cell phone, after his encounter with agent Rossi he started being more careful, not give the older man any other reason to get him fired. He tried calling them again but they wouldn't answer. He was worried, he heard about the car crash in I-95 and it seemed to be pretty terrible one, so far three people were dead and ten others had been transported to the nearest hospital in critical condition. Of all the days… it had to be today… it just had to be today.

He splashed some cold water on his face trying to get his composure back, (he failed miserably) still tried because why not, and walked out of the men's room.

"Agent Anderson."

"Chief Cruz." Of-Fucking-Course!

XXXX

Emily gave in and walked in Penelope's bedroom, she first said she didn't need to worry the little boy but she couldn't sleep, she needed to know that he was at least alright; being away from Aaron like that was seriously dumping her mood. This wasn't how she had imagined coming back to the states would go at all. She should have called him the moment she found out and told him, she should have been on a plane as soon as she learned it. Why the hell didn't she pick up the phone to call him immediately? Yes it was too early, and sure she didn't want to get his hopes up for no reason but she had all the signs, every single one, she was late, her boobs hurt, she was nauseous a lot, getting sick even more, she felt tiered and run to the bathroom way too much…

"Emmy?" she turned her head to the little boy, he rubbed his eyes with his little fist and her heart clutched, he looked just like Aaron did when he woke up. She knew, deep down she knew that using a ten year old boy to get over the fact that she might not see his father again wasn't fair or even right, but she couldn't stop herself, purring her love and care into Jack was the only way she could think to fill the void in her soul. She walked to the bed and kneeled down in front of him, she pushed some stray strands from his eyes and smiled at the sleepy boy in front of her "What's wrong baby?" he yawned and Emily smiled, it was the purest sight she had seen.

"I can't sleep, can you sleep here with us?" his voice was shaking a bit and she told him to move forward in the bed to make some space for her too.

"Emmy?"

"Yeah baby." She tightened her hold on his little body and he snuggled closer to her chest.

"Do you think daddy will agree if I ask him for a baby sister or brother?" her breath was caught in her throat and she answered the question before she even thought about it.

"I'm sure he will, in fact you might get one sooner than you think."

 **A/N: Muhahaha, I'm a bad bad person… I know. Sorry for that. Next chapter might take a bit longer than usually, since I'm starting school again, I'll try to update as much as I can. I hope you like this story so far, I know I'm enjoying writing it. Who do you think Anderson had already called? Who would you like to see coming back as well? By the way I want to thank you all for the reviews, I don't replay mostly because I'm almost all the time online from my tablet and kinda sucks, but I do read them all and they do make me really happy, so keep them coming.**

 **As always let me know your thoughts… and till next time, BYE!**

 **What a sneak peak?**

 **Oh fine here it is.**

 _He's been questioned, dragged around and treated like the worst kind of humanity. The once proud and kept together Unit Chief was long gone. He was beaten down, broken and so damn tiered. He didn't care about anything anymore. He didn't care about his reputation, his job, even his life. They had ruined everything. He couldn't even face his son and he hated that the last memory he'll have of him would be being dragged outside of his apartment in cuffs, he hated that the last image of his boy he had was of him crying and straggling against JJ's arms to set himself free. Because he knew, once this was over and he was behind bars he wouldn't stay there for long. He would die, now would it be by his inmates or his own hand he hadn't decided yet, who he was kidding he had decided, one last shred of control he had and he was going to use it. If his life was going to end it was going to do so with his own rules. He'd kill himself…_


	7. Miscommunication

**Chapter 6: Miscommunication.**

 **A/N: Chapter 6 is here! We'll finally see Hotch, get a bit more into the story, and actually learn the names of the first three people Anderson had called as they are coming in the Academy, will Dave apologize to Anderson because let's face it he was an a*hole to the poor guy, or will he actually dig an even deeper hole for himself. OMG! Did you saw the episode? It totally blew me away! Well this story is obviously moving a bit slower than the episode and although we might see some of the things that happened in the episode happen here, it's mainly based on Hotch being framed.**

 **Enjoy!**

 _Previously_

 _"_ _Do you think daddy will agree if I ask him for a baby sister or brother?" her breath was caught in her throat and she answered the question before she even thought about it._

 _"_ _I'm sure he will, in fact you might get one sooner than you think."_

Chapter 6

He's been questioned, dragged around and treated like the worst kind of humanity. The once proud and kept together Unit Chief was long gone. He was beaten down, broken and so damn tiered. He didn't care about anything anymore. He didn't care about his reputation, his job, even his life. They had ruined everything. He couldn't even face his son and he hated that the last memory he'll have of him would be being dragged outside of his apartment in cuffs, he hated that the last image of his boy he had was of him crying and straggling against JJ's arms to set himself free. Because he knew, once this was over and he was behind bars he wouldn't stay there for long. He would die, now would it be by his inmates or his own hand he hadn't decided yet, who he was kidding he had decided, one last shred of control he had and he was going to use it. If his life was going to end it was going to do so with his own rules. He'd kill himself…

"Hotchner!" he looks up and sees the case agent again, he fights the need to roll his eyes at the man in front of him, how it's a miracle to him. "Agent Seaton, what a pleasure seeing your lovely face again." His sarcastic tone had even surprised him, Craig Seaton was a 56 years old man, his once blonde hair had started thinking out years ago and he chose to shave them off. His gray eyes were always dull and boring, Hotch had associated with him in the past, after all they all had to face the same boring budget meetings under Strauss for years, he never liked the man though. There was always something slimy about him.

"Make jokes now." His heavy Boston accent made Hotch's stomach turn, there was nothing good he associated with the damn city and the bastard in front of him knew it. It wasn't unknown in the bureau that Seaton hated his living daylights. Oh how much he hated it when Strauss stopped drilling his ass, or even worse when she died and they asked _him_ to take over. Or when Cruz came and they soon became friends. It must have been killing him and Hotch had enough, if the bastard was going to play dirty and use things from his past against him so was he. His previous resign over life overall flew out the window. He wasn't dead yet, he hadn't lost, there was still some fight left in him and if he was going down for something he didn't do he was sure as hell going to drag down as many others as he could with him. In any way he could.

"Always make jokes Craig, you should ask my wife." His face darkened, Craig Seaton you sick bastard, he still wasn't over the fact that Emily blew him off too many times to count in her years in the bureau, and when they finally announced that they are married… oh boy, if looks could kill. "Not that she'll want to be close to you but…" his last comment angered the man in front of him who slammed his hands on the table. It took all of his willpower to not flinch or move away from the loud bang, but he reminded himself that he stared down George Fucking Foyet as he shoot a .44 next to his head, he wasn't going to let a mediocre bastard make him flinch.

"You know, can I call you Craig? I will, when my team is done with you, there won't be a hole deep enough to bury your carrier, you'd wish you never crossed me." The other man's eyes widened and then he snickered in response, "You are not in position to threaten a federal agent Hotchner." Hotch chuckled darkly and raised his eyes slowly till he looked at the man straight in the eyes "I'm not threatening Craig, I'm warning, and it's Agent Hotchner." Hotch used his cuffed hands and pushed the table forward towards the man almost knocking him off his chair.

"You fucking asshole, I'll kill you Hotchner I swear I'll end you." Seaton screamed over his shoulder as he left the questioning room with his hands curled in tight fists. Before he left the room Hotch found it in him and threw one last taunt to the man. "Now who's threatening a federal agent Craig?"

He knew the punch was coming before he even felt it colliding with his face, but it was oh so worth it.

XXXX

Penelope run to the door and threw it open, she gasped in relieve when she saw them standing there. "Oh Derek, Savannah, thank you so much!" she hugged them both tightly and led them inside. "Emily is sleeping inside with the kids. Jack's keep having nightmares and JJ called I need to go back to the BAU but I don't want to leave Emily alone, I didn't know who else to call, I don't trust anyone else that much." Derek threw his arms around her hugging her close "Hey, baby girl, baby girl, relax, go to the BAU, work your magic, we'll stay here and when Princess and the kids wake up we'll get them to our house." Penelope just then noticed that her baby chocolate thunder was nowhere "Chocolate thunder where is my baby prince?" Savannah smiled at Penelope's nickname of her son. She was truly, as Derek described her, the light in the team's darkness. She'll never grow tired of her happy demeanor and helping nature. "Baby girl, my mama is here and she's staying with him, what kind of father you think I am?" he joked; she knew he did but that didn't stop the tears falling from her eyes. "Hey baby girl, get ready and go to work, they need you and more important Hotch needs you. So listen, you go to the BAU and you sent back here a file for me and Emily to go through, alright? You help Hotch from your side we'll help him from ours." She nodded in his chest and leaned back to wipe some of her tears. "Thank you Barbie, Ken." Savannah couldn't keep her laugh back this time as Penelope left the room dropping a soft kiss on hers and Derek's cheeks.

Penelope left the house and Derek with Savannah settled in the couch, she leaned towards him and he wrapped his arms around her shoulder. They both knew that they wouldn't turn their back on the BAU, they did, and none of them was actually sorry for being here. There weren't that many people in the world that got them quite as well as these people in this unit, these crazy people that became Derek's family and accepted Savannah as one of their own from day one. They were, as Derek explained it to her, a family from different bloodlines. It didn't matter, not in the end, families after all weren't about the blood but about the love and respect between its members, and they loved and respected each other too much.

"Morgan?" Derek got up from the couch and looked straight into the face of a sleepy Emily Prentiss, her white dress shirt got un-tucked from her gray pants, her feet were bare, her hair a mess. What he noticed the most though was the rings in her left hand. "Woa, woa princess what's that thing there." He joked nodding towards her finger she looked down at her fingers and smiled at the blue green square sapphire, white gold ring she wore. The thin band in which the ring was sitting had small Swarovski crystals and the sapphire was surrounded by little diamonds. "You should have got Hotch with you when you looked for rings. Actually I'm putting a petition to the next family meeting we'll have, Hotch _needs_ to come with you boys the next time you are looking for jewelry!" Emily laughed at Savannah's comment, she walked to Emily "May I?" she asked taking her hand in her hands, "Oh gosh, Derek it even matches her wedding band. Wait I thought you and Hotch got married in Vegas." Emily felt the heat raising in her cheeks, it wasn't a secret how they got married, the whole let's be spontaneous thing they had going on that night, probably for the first time in their lives till then, wasn't a secret any more. They've been teased and made fun of because of that, especially in the last year the team knew they were back together why too much. "Yeah we did, Aaron had the ring custom made to fit the wedding bands we got from Vegas." Her eyebrows raised so high that almost were hidden by her hairline. "Hear that Derek, your unit chief just schooled you all." Derek chuckled and shakes his head

"Insufferable." He murmured while walking to the kitchen...

XXXX

JJ liked Mateo Cruz, for most people he was Matt, or Cruz, for her though since the first week she met him had been and always will be Mattie. This nickname drives him absolutely mental, he freaking hates it, and still she is the only one that can use it.

So when she walked towards his office holding a bag of Chinese and a bottle of their favorite wine it wasn't a sign that anyone would question. It wasn't even out of place, every once and a while someone from Alpha team, mostly JJ or Penelope would bring the man dinner because he, alongside with Hotch wouldn't know when to leave and get some dinner on their own.

She walked into the outer office and noticed his assistant had left for the day, poor guy Matt was working him to the ground these days, with everything that was going on though it was to be expected.

 _"_ _He doesn't know that you initiated it."_ JJ froze in her spot, she leaned towards the door more and tried to listen more carefully at the talk, it was wrong she knew it, it wasn't right and she shouldn't do it, but it was also like a train wreck, you know its coming and you just can't look away.

 _"_ _Rossi knowing can blow everything up, he is good, he'll figure it out that we are involved, damn it Grant! Did they make contact with you again?"_ she took a step back and used her free hand to cover her mouth as a gasp was coming out. Anderson and Matt were involved in something, something that Matt had initiated, she felt her heart raising, she prayed for the first time in months for this to have nothing to do with Hotch.

Anderson said something but she couldn't really hear him, damn his whispering

 _"_ _Hm, are they informed on the Hotch situation?"_ JJ bit down on the hand she had on her mouth, she felt the tears raising and some even falling, she tried to will herself to not come to a hasty conclusion since Matt could just be trying to help Hotch and didn't want to have anyone know it, her brain tried to rationalize, he could be fired if he was caught trying to help a suspect openly.

 _"_ _Not entirely, it wasn't safe to do so over the phone, in this damn building even the walls have ears. No privacy."_ She heard Anderson joke and Matt laughed along. The tears she was trying to hold back rolled down her face.

 _"_ _It's a mess, Hotch getting arrested, the whole programming when straight to hell, the higher ups are asking for a head on a silver platter and honestly I'm thinking of offering them his."_ JJ's eyes widened, she couldn't believe how much Mateo Cruz had fooled her, she trusted him, she believe him, she even made him the godfather of her son!

" _Yeah, that bastard needs to be taught a lesson!"_ she left the room running as soon as she was away she threw the bag with the food and the bottle of wine in the nearest trashcan and kept walking to the BAU she needed to tell the others what she heard.

Their Section Chief was the one who sent Hotch in jail!

XXXX

Everything in the situation he was in screamed _danger, danger, danger!_ With bright red letters and lights around too, but here he was sitting in his boss's office being offered a drink, (was he even supposed to keep those here?), and he was completely calm. He drank his drink, they both did in silence and Anderson's brain decided it was a good time to remind him of Cruz's connections, what if he had slipped him some sort of truth serum? His entire short and young carrier passed in front of his eyes.

"Grant, you are not here as an agent and I'm not here as your boss. A good friend of both of us is right now in a holding cell in this very same building, he is being questioned and from what I've heard physically abused as well, how's the alpha team going? Is anyone on to you? Do they know?" yeah well, conspiring with your boss to get the help your somewhat family needed and at the same time giving them the best gift of their lives wasn't as stress free as Anderson made it look.

"I snapped at agent Rossi and I mentioned that I am getting hands on deck, but he doesn't know that you initiated it." Matt grimaced

"Rossi knowing can blow everything up, he is good, he'll figure it out that we are involved, damn it Grant! Did they make contact with you again?"

"No, but there was a terrible accident on I-95 and they'll probably stuck there."

"Hm, are they informed on the Hotch situation?" Anderson nodded "Not entirely, it wasn't safe to do so over the phone, in this damn building even the walls have ears. No privacy!" Anderson joked laughing and Matt followed along. It was empty hollow, lacked the normal happiness, and how could he find it? Everything was a mess. He placed the glass on the table and leaned forward to Grant. "Do you know what the worst thing in this whole mess is? Craig Seaton!" he kept his voice down, Anderson was right even the walls in this building have ears.

"Everything it's a mess, Hotch getting arrested, the whole programming when straight to hell, the higher ups are asking for a head on a silver platter and honestly I'm thinking of offering them his." Anderson nodded, from times to times he wondered if the Unit Chief from counterterrorism had anyone who liked him. He was an ass to everyone, rude, disrespectful; always trying to tear the BAU down and from what he had heard not just the BAU.

"Yeah, that bastard needs to be taught a lesson!" Anderson froze, "Sorry." Matt was ready to answer but heard the sound of heels running outside his office "Did you hear that?"

"No." Anderson looked puzzled he hadn't heard anything strange "I heard heels, familiar heels." Matt sat down on his chair again. The younger man looked at his boss and signed "Sleep deprivation, maybe you should crash in the couch." Matt chuckled darkly, "Tried that, failed. Till Hotch is back… I don't think any of us will sleep."

"Hell yeah."

XXXX

JJ walked into the bullpen and marched straight up the stairs of the catwalk, at first she had every intention to go to the conference room and inform the rest on what she heard from Mat… _Cruz_ , he wasn't Matt or Mattie anymore he had lost that right, but when she saw the dark office in front of her she couldn't take a step forward. She couldn't remember a time when Hotch's office was ever dark, the man seemed to be living in there. She placed her hand on the knob and walked in, a familiar scent surrounded her, she walked to the desk and softly run her fingers on the leather back of the chair. She looked around, pictures of Jack, Emily and the team were everywhere around her, on his desk a picture of Emily and Jack sat right in front his direct sight from where he was doing his paperwork. She smiled and sat down on his chair, it smelt just like him, it was familiar and soothing, just like back when she was a kid and she would run to her father for a hug. Right now she felt just as safe.

It was silent at first, she didn't even move from the spot, didn't want to disturb anything from how he had left it two days ago. But then she felt something wet hit her hands which she had placed on her lap and she froze, looking around her she couldn't find the source of the liquid took her a while to understand that it was her… she was crying.

"Mio Angelo?" she looked up not bothering to whip the tears from running down her eyes.

"Dave?"

"What's the problem cara." he asked walking towards her and sat down on the chair he had claimed as his own he reached over and took her hands in his.

"I went to get dinner with Matt and when I got there I heard him talking to someone, I know I shouldn't listen but I heard your name and I couldn't stop it. I … Dave I think Matt had something to do with Hotch's arrest."

The two of them sat there for an hour, JJ told him everything and Dave felt the blood boiling in his veins. His gut was right; Anderson was up to something after all, but Cruz too? The sick bastard had made them trust him and now he was going to pay for this.

XXXX

When Kate got to the sixth floor it was as if nothing had changed. The same feeling she had a year ago was still there. She felt the familiarity; it was almost like coming home. She missed this place; she missed it almost too much.

"Kate?" she turned her head and came face to face with Reid "Spencer!" she hugged him tightly and was surprised when the younger man wrapped _his_ arms around her waist.

"How's your little man?" he asked when they pulled apart.

"He is adorable, I've got pictures if you're interested." She winked at him and a small smile grazed his lips.

"I'd love to, but we've got a situation, maybe another time."

"Oh, Spencer, I know. Why do you think I'm here?"

XXXX

Alex never thought she'll enter the building again, but here she was, she paid the driver and bolted out of the cab as fast as she could. Walking to the front door, looking around it took her some time to find Marvin, the security guy and walk to him "Hey Marvin!"

"Agent Blake, good to have you back!" she smiled and wondered why she didn't correct him.

"Good to be back Marvin, can you set me up with a visitor's badge?"

"Sure, but I need someone to vouch for you, sorry rules." Alex smiled sympathetically.

"Don't worry Marvin, chief Cruz asked me, I'm sure he'll vouch for me."

"Good, I'm giving him a call, and I'll have you ready in about ten, take a seat." Alex thanked the man and walked to some chairs placed on the other side of the room next to a water cooler. Everything about this building was familiar; everything was easy, even watching the dismembered bodies of innocent people. Everything was what Harvard wasn't.

"Agent Blake! You are ready!" Alex was startled; apparently when a Section Chief calls you are cleared a bit faster. She got up and walked to the desk, taking the badge from Marvin, "Oh and Chief Cruz said that he wants to talk to you first." She nodded and walked to the elevators.

It was a long ride to the sixth floor, one that gave her a lot time to think, she needed that, Anderson didn't really gave her any information on what was going on, other than that Hotch was in trouble. She really hoped they weren't messing with her, she wouldn't be too kind to them if they dragged her all the way from Boston for nothing. She got off the elevator and almost crashed on Dave, oh how much she had missed him.

"Dave!" he looked startled to see her there.

"Alex? What are you doing here?" the hard lines on his face smothered some and something that resembled a smile reached his face. "I heard about Hotch being in trouble and I thought I could help."

"That's really nice of you. Who informed you?" something in his voice changed and Alex tried to figure out why "Anderson did, in fact I am a bit baffled why you or someone else from the team didn't call me." Something flashed in Dave's eyes, "Oh, so Anderson called you."

"Yeah, and I have to go see Cruz now. So we can chat later." She hesitantly turned to leave, something had changed in Dave and that something was scarring her. Why wouldn't he call her? They needed help to prove Hotch was innocent after all. Why was he acting that strange against Anderson and Cruz? They were trying to help Hotch.

"What a coincidence so do I, why don't I walk you there." He stopped her escape by grapping her arm, it was tight, not tight enough to hurt, but tight enough to actually sent chills down her spine. She smiled awkwardly "Sure why not." They walked the short way to Cruz's office in silence, something in Dave's demeanor was scaring Alex, actually it was scaring her that much that she wondered if maybe Dave didn't _want_ Hotch to be proven innocent.

XXXX

"I'm telling you Tara there is something funky with this file!" Penelope had arrived in Quantico in almost record time, she of course broke every single speeding rule but she used her credentials the only time she was stopped claiming that she was needed for an emergency in Quantico, they let her pass. She was in her office for fifteen minutes trying to decrypt the file on Hotch's laptop, the smiling faces of her family on his desktop giving her hope and happiness and strength to keep going.

"What funky?"

"It's… too encrypted for Hotch. He does know some basic encryption, I taught him but this… this is some other level thingy. Not even I have that encryption and I can barely break it."Penelope had reached her limit, this day was driving her up the wall and she couldn't concentrate.

"Hey, take a break, go to the conference room, see what the rest have found, work on something else. Have you thought about letting Kevin take a look at it, maybe all you need is a fresh pair of eyes?" Penelope thought of what Tara said, she nodded her head "You are a genius doctor. Thank you!" Penelope leaned forward and hugged the taller woman in front of her; she buried her head in her shoulder and let a few tears to roll down.

"I better go" she turned and left her office, Tara stayed behind looking around, everything around her radiated happiness and love. Pictures of the team on the walls around her proved exactly how tight knit this family was. She pulled Garcia's char and sat down rubbing her face with her palms and taking a few deep breaths. She was tired and she needed a break too, all of them did.

"Who would have done this? Hotch put away many criminals, any one of them would have done this. But this is a sophisticated attack not everyone could have done this. How the SWAT went there? They could have been asked to conduct the arrest by the counterterrorism unit or they could have been dispatched by 911 operators. If it was the second there could be records of the call. But an inmate couldn't make the call; the number would have been traced. So it has to be someone with connections on the inside, or someone extremely intelligent to have pulled the whole thing off."

"And here you see our resident forensic psychologist losing it!" Tara looked back and noticed Reid standing at the door with a shorter brunette woman. "Shame on you!" she slapped his forearm and they laughed "Hey, I'm Kate Callahan, call me Kate." Tara smiled at the woman and took her hand "Hey, Tara Lewis, nice meeting Kate. Hey look I think I know where to look next. We should check 911 calls, the only way for SWAT to show up so fast in his apartment especially if they were watching him for months is for someone to have called in making them think that he was going to detonate the bomb soon." Spencer nodded and looked at Kate "I think she's right. I'll get Garcia to check the calls." With that he left the room leaving the two women behind.

"How are settling in the BAU?" Kate asked, she usually was quite quick to make friends but usually she didn't look up to the people she met. "Ok, I'm sorry I have to say it. I read some of your papers, I love you!"

The laugh the two of them left was clenching, they both needed that, they laughed till laugh turned to tears and tears to sobs. It was exactly what they needed right now and the tears running down their faces, some from laughing, some from the anger and some from the pain and grieve were what clenched their souls.

They had just gotten their breaths back to normal when they heard the loud screams coming from the direction of Cruz's office…

XXXX

"Oh, why don't you walk in first, I can wait." Dave said, he smiled, showing his teeth in a manner that Alex could only describe as threatening.

"Alright, I'll see you later David." He watched her entering the office and waited for the door to close behind her before he leaned towards the wood and tried to hear with his own ears what JJ told him.

 _"_ _Are you sleeping?"_

 _"_ _Wha... where am I."_ the man groaned and Dave heard the ruffling of the blanket he used. The blood in his veins boiled, they all were working themselves to the ground and he stayed in his office sleeping

 _"_ _I'm glad you made it here that fast. Let's move to the desk. It's a mess here."_ He heard him chuckling, he wanted to barge in and rip his head off.

 _"_ _Of course, let's"_ he heard their steps through the room walking from the couch he had placed next to the door to the desk on the other side of the room where his desk was.

 _"_ _I suppose you heard about Hotch being in trouble. It's a little deeper than that. He was arrested, I need your help."_

 _"_ _Help on what?"_ Dave was ready to barge in his anger had reached another level, he felt veins pulsing the sound of his blood pumping through them deafened him so much that he lost part of what Matt said, what he did heard though had him almost ripping the door off of its hinges.

 _"_ _Prove his guilt."_ The wooden door slammed to the wall causing a few of the frames Matt had to fall on the floor. He immediately got up from his chair and his right hand reached to his holster, a move that didn't go unnoticed by Dave, Alex got up too, looking at Dave shocked, what the hell was going on in this building?

Dave took his gun out and pointed it to the section chief "YOU BASTARD!" he roared. Matt dropped his hand from his holster and raised them up

"Dave, what's going on? Please drop the gun; you don't want to do this. I'm your friend." Every reasoning Matt had tried fell on deaf ears.

"Friend!" Dave snickered "That's why you got Hotch arrested?"

"What? You think I had something to do with this."Matt was shocked, he shake his head in disbelieve "Who told you that?"

"JJ, You ASSHOLE, the woman you PLAYED, MAKING HER THINK YOU WERE A FRIEND. Remember JJ? How about her son? Michael who's gonna grow up knowing that one of his godfathers was a TRAITOROUS BASTARD! Not that you care of course." Matt opened his mouth to tell Dave what he was doing, maybe Anderson was right they shouldn't keep it a secret.

"Dave, please."

"NO! I don't wanna hear your excuses you son of a bitch! I just want to see you rot in jail!"

"I do." Dave turned and saw JJ standing by the door, the dried tears on her face visible, mascara lines on her cheeks, "I want to hear why he would do this."

"I wouldn't! Why do you think Alex is here, what do you think I'm doing here all day? Anderson and I are trying to get people here to help you and make the DOJ see that you need more hands. I've been trying for months to get the extra money to establish a second alpha team and now that Hotch is a suspect it all went to hell, I had to force their hands."

"He is right you know."

XXXX

Alex walked into the office trying to shake off the feeling she had that something was terribly wrong with Dave, knowing the love Dave had for Hotch, seeing the younger man as his son, she didn't want to believe that he would be anyway involved in this, whatever _this_ might have been.

"Are you sleeping?" Alex saw the man snoozing in the couch; he had dragged an orange blanket to his neck and was wearing something fuzzy and purple beneath it.

"Wha... where am I." the man was startled awake for the second time in a day, he looked around him taking him a few minutes to realize that he was indeed still in his office, and judging by the fact that he was startled awake by Alex Blake and not JJ or Penelope this whole nightmare wasn't just a nightmare. "Oh nuts!" a mischievous smile appeared on Alex's lips, she seriously considered teasing him about swearing first thing after waking up but seeing the state of the man in front of her stopped her. His once perfect ironed suit was now wrinkled, it's been hours since he ditched the jacket and his tie was hanging from his chair for about an hour. His light blue shirt had stains from sweat and something else (possible tears, Alex mussed), his hair were sticking right and left, his eyes glossy, he looked thinner than she remembered him, he had black circles under his eyes, and his skin had an unhealthy pale tone.

"Forgive me, it's… it's been a tough few months… year." He got up taking few unsteady steps.

"I'm glad you made it here that fast. Let's move to the desk. It's a mess here."

"Of course, let's"

He walked slowly to his desk, Alex following him, and dropped on his chair. He closed his eyes rubbing his hands over his face trying to rid his brain from the last traces of sleep. The once strong man seemed to be losing his strength

"I suppose you heard about Hotch being in trouble. It's a little deeper than that. He was arrested, I need your help." His voice was steadier than it was a few minutes ago. He had opened his eyes, his black eyes captured her brown.

"Help on what?" he leaned forward towards her, "I think I know who might have done it and the rumor has it that there is a broader plan." He was whispering, trying to remember Anderson's advice about even the walls of this place having ears.

"And you need me to…"

"Help us prove his guilt." The wooden door slammed to the wall and Matt saw the framed pictures he had with the team fall and crash on the ground. He immediately got up from his chair and his right hand reached to his holster, it was almost instinctive and in his state of hyper vigilance it wasn't that weird that this was his first move, Alex got up too, looking at Dave shocked, what the hell was going on in this building, had everyone gone mental?

Matt saw Dave taking out his gun and he found himself starring at the barrel of the gun of a man he thought was a friend. "YOU BASTARD!" he roared. Matt's hand left his holster and he immediately raised them up, this has to be some sort of mistake.

"Dave, what's going on? Please drop the gun; you don't want to do this. I'm your friend." Every reasoning Matt had tried fell on deaf ears. He knew that, he knew it by the way Dave's hold on the gun got tighter.

"Friend!" Dave snickered "That's why you got Hotch arrested?"

"What? You think I had something to do with this."Matt was shocked, he shake his head in disbelieve "Who told you that?"

"JJ, You ASSHOLE, the woman you PLAYED, MAKING HER THINK YOU WERE A FRIEND. Remember JJ? How about her son? Michael who's gonna grow up knowing that one of his godfathers was a TRAITOROUS BASTARD! Not that you care of course." Matt opened his mouth to tell Dave what he was doing, maybe Anderson was right they shouldn't keep it a secret. Maybe the whole thing was causing more trouble as a secret as it was worth.

"Dave, please."

"NO! I don't wanna hear your excuses you son of a bitch! I just want to see you rot in jail!" He took a few steps back, shocked by the anger and resentment on the other man's voice.

"I do." Dave turned and saw JJ standing by the door, the dried tears on her face visible, mascara lines on her cheeks, Matt felt his heart shattering, his actions had caused this, him with his secrecy. "I want to hear why he would do this."

"I wouldn't! Why do you think Alex is here, what do you think I'm doing here all day? Anderson and I are trying to get people here to help you and make the DOJ see that you need more hands. I've been trying for months to get the extra money to establish a second alpha team and now that Hotch is a suspect it all went to hell, I had to force their hands." he was desperate, Dave hadn't lowered his gun, but at least someone was willing to listen to him.

"He is right you know." All heads turned to the door and he was never gladder to see Kate Callahan in his life.

"What?" Dave snickered

"He is right, Anderson called me and told me that Hotch was in trouble and Chief wanted all hands on deck, as soon as possible, dropped everything and here I am."

"I'm not the one who betrayed Hotch. I don't what you heard, but the only thing I'm guilty of is not telling you guys, but I didn't want you to worry about that. I'm sorry." Matt lowered his hands and dropped back on his chair, he was exhausted, his stomach was grouching and he just wished he wouldn't retch in front of them. Everyone stayed there shocked, they were all tired and till now they hadn't seen just how much that was distracting them. Matt felt cold sweat dampening the back of his shirt. Some drops fell from his forehead on his hands which felt like ice. He felt his heart beating harder and reached his left hand to his neck noticing his elevated heartbeats. He thought he heard JJ call his name but his eyes couldn't focus on anything, he looked around trying to grasp on reality but he couldn't focus, white spots appeared in his vision and as much as he tried to speak he couldn't since his dry throat was constricting. He barely managed to whisper "I'm sorry" before he finally succumbed to the so welcomed darkness.

When JJ saw him trying to get up and his hand slipping on the hand rest and falling motionless on his side she knew something was seriously wrong, Matt was usually so full of fight that his whole body would vibrate from the power and strength he would radiate to the room. He was a fighter, a true fighter. Seeing the paleness of his mouth and the beads of sweet falling down his forehead was a punch in the gut. She run to his side, her hand immediately clutching his, the skin of his palm felt dry and it was limp, barely managing to keep a grip on her fingers. Her other arm went around his shoulders, "Matt." She whispered his name, her hand clutching his upper arm, she leaned forward and kissed his forehead, "He's running a fever, call an ambulance." She said to Dave who left the room phone in hand. "Matt… Mattie, hey don't close your eyes, you hear me?" she tightened the hold she had on him but she got no answer from the shaking man. The only thing she heard him whisper was a soft " _I'm sorry"_ and she felt as if he ripped her heart out with it.

 **A/N: That's it chapter 6 is done! I loved-loved-loved the finale although completely different from what I would like to see, it was though exactly what I expected it to be. The episode was gold kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. I hoped you enjoyed the episode let me know what you are thinking. Also you can find me on tumblr too on criminalmindsbauagent . tumblr . com it would mean a lot to me if you'd check the blog out. thank you for reading, please leave a review, they always make my day.**

 **Till next time, bye!**

 **Of course there is a sneak peak!**

 _Emily walked to the pharmacy next door, Jack was still sleeping, so was Henry, she was glad that none of them had woken up at night, not even when she got out of the bed. She let Derek and Savannah back in Penelope's apartment and found the closest pharmacy she could find. This would be her tenth since she first noticed she was late. Nine tests so far and five came back positive, four negative, four stab wounds to her heart, five heartbeats skipped. This would be her tenth (probably eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth maybe fourteenth too). She was going to get her answers… there would be no more wondering._


	8. A little step forward

**Chapter 7:** **A little step forward**

 **A/N: Here is chapter 7! We'll see if Emily is (as you guessed) pregnant or not. We'll see Jack and Henry in the BAU, some cute scenes with the boys trying to rebuild the relationship with the team. We'll also see what's on the encrypted file and what happened with the 911 call. And of course what happened to Matt.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer in chapter 1**

 _Previously_

 _"_ _Matt… Mattie, hey don't close your eyes, you hear me?" she tightened the hold she had on him but she got no answer from the shaking man. The only thing she heard him whisper was a soft "I'm sorry" and she felt as if he ripped her heart out with it._

Chapter 7

Emily walked to the pharmacy next door, Jack was still sleeping, so was Henry, she was glad that none of them had woken up at night, not even when she got out of the bed. She let Derek and Savannah back in Penelope's apartment and found the closest pharmacy she could find. This would be her tenth since she first noticed she was late. Nine tests so far and five came back positive, four negative, four stab wounds to her heart, five heartbeats skipped. This would be her tenth (probably eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth maybe fourteenth too). She was going to get her answers… there would be no more wondering.

She quickly picked up three tests and run to the counter, paid for them and walked out of the store. She was anxious, her hands were sweating, it wasn't that she didn't want the answer, she did, she wanted the answer but she wasn't sure if she was ready for it. A positive test, another, would mean that she and Aaron would finally get what they were trying for five years ago, what Doyle took from them, but then other troubles would arise, she wasn't young, she'd have to be really careful, and her body had sustained a lot of damage over the years, was she going to be able to carry full term? What if she wasn't? What if she miscarried? Or what if she was a bad mother, what if the baby hated her? She had to stop herself at that point, that or she'd drive herself crazy.

XXXX

The ambulance rushed Matt to the ER, JJ didn't let his hand till the doctors had practically removed her from his side. The whole way he was in and out of consciousness and the doctors rushed him to a room. She walked to the waiting room led away by a nurse who had enough of her screaming. Dave rushed to her side first; he helped her down to a chair and sat down next to her.

"Did we cause it Dave?" she had fresh tears rolling down her face. Her eyes were red and swollen, "No cara, don't do that, we don't know what is wrong with him." Dave was thinking the same thing, no matter what he said to JJ the result was the same. This mess kept going on and on. If whoever planned it wanted to destroy them he was succeeding, in their try to get Hotch out of custody the soonest they ignored themselves. They let fatigue get the best of them, tiredness to cloud their minds, they were losing the fight.

"Family for Mateo Cruz?" a doctor in light blue scrubs appeared and Dave followed JJ who jumped from the plastic seat. "Tell us." Dave said.

"Well Mr. Cruz is alright, he had a bad case of exhaustion and a mild case of dehydration which caused his blood pressure to fall rapidly which caused the sweating and the fainting. He'll be alright, we'll keep him for the rest of the night here for observation but you can see him." The doctor squeezed JJ's arm sand she let the first smile in hours graze her lips. "Thank you doctor." She said softly and Dave smiled to the doctor in appreciation. "See cara, he's fine." JJ nodded, still smiling even through her tears "Matt's a fighter."

"He is cara. Do you mind if I go first, I need to talk to him for a while before I go back to Quantico." Dave said.

"It's fine, I'll go get some coffee from downstairs, I'll stay the night." "You sure will cara" he said.

Dave saw JJ walking down the hall to the elevators and waited till she disappeared behind the closing doors before turning around and walking in the room the doctor told them Matt was.

Opening the door as softly as he could he saw the younger man lying on the bed, he looked ill, he doesn't remember the last time he saw him like that. Not even after being tortured and almost stabbed to death he look that bad.

"Hey, it's Dave. I'm sorry, I don't know… I used to run the BAU at first with Jason and Max and then just Jason, but now Max and I don't talk to each other and Jason is dead. I've worked in the BAU for many years, many years now. I don't know how to run the team anymore, it's not mine to. It's Aaron's team, and Aaron isn't there. My son died the day he was born…" Dave stopped and took a few deep breaths. He didn't know if Matt was awake or not, but he needed to tell him why… apologize. "I never saw him grow up but if he did, I think we would be like Aaron, at least I hope he would be. I latched onto him, and he became my son. To see him being dragged into the FBI building like some common criminal in handcuffs… his hands behind his back… I think it broke me a little… maybe a little too much. I took it out on the wrong person, I guess I wanted someone to blame and you were there, acting secretively, if the shoe fits right? I'm sorry… you didn't deserve that. So sorry for that… I hope you can forgive me." Dave reached his hand and gripped Matt's on the bed. "It's okay." His voice was barely above a whisper but Dave heard him, he saw the man struggling to open his eyes failing but trying again. "Here to bail me out." Dave let a laugh at his words "No, son tonight you stay here, you rest, eat, drink some water and tomorrow we'll see." The groan Matt let was almost childlike and Dave barely contained his laugh. "JJ will stay with you tonight, don't worry we won't let you with the wolves, I gotta go back to Quantico. Get better." With a last squeeze to the other man's hand Dave left the room, he walked down the hall with his head held high, but all that was a past when the door of his car closed and he broke.

JJ walked in the room, she was relieved to see Matt awake. "Matt" she breathed his name in relieve. A faint smile crossed his pale lips and he weekly tried to get up from the bed. "Don't even think about it." She scolded him and walked to his bed. JJ sat down on the chair Dave was sitting before and reached for his hand which still laid limply on the bed. "I'm so sorry Mattie. I should have known better than accuse you of such thing." The tears she thought had stopped started rolling down her face again. He turned his head and looked at her, "Don't worry Jen, just don't worry about it. It was my fault as much as anyone's; I should have told you guys." She smiled and squeezed his hand smiling.

They spent the rest of the night in silence, with only the occasionally sign from Matt stating his boredom.

XXXX

"I haven't managed to decrypt the file but I did found the 911 call, it was traced back to Hotch's cell phone." Penelope was now walking up and down, she was hyperventilating, "Garcia do you have the recording?" Dave asked "Sure" she walked back to the laptop she had left on the table; she pressed play knowing full well that it couldn't be good

 _"_ _Today will change everything"_

 _"_ _Excuse me sir?"_

 _"_ _Today will change everything."_

"Hotch? Guys it can't be Hotch right?" Kate said. "Why would he do that? It's not Hotch." The last part of her sentence held finality as if she wasn't going to believe that Hotch was talking although his voice was what they all heard.

"Play it again Pen."

"Em."

"Play it again."

XXXX

 _Emily walked in Penelope's apartment, she looked around, Derek was still sleeping on the couch, Savannah in the kitchen looking through Penelope's cabinets for anything to prepare breakfast with, there was no sign of the kids so she guessed they were still asleep._

 _"_ _You got it?" Savannah asked her. Emily had no idea why she told her suspicions on the other woman, it's not like they knew each other that well, but maybe that was the reason… they didn't know each other that well._

 _"_ _Yeah, going to take it now." Savannah smiled at Emily who nodded and turned to the bathroom. She closed the door and took a deep breath, her hands gripped the sink, she gripped the white marble till her knuckles were white looking at the sink and the paper bag she had dropped there. There, there was the answer…_

 _Was she ready?_

XXXX

"What are you doing here?" Dave asked

"Dave not now. Penelope, play the recording again and raise the volume." Her voice was stone cold; she was looking at the laptop, avoiding all stares.

"Emily! Where are the boys?" Emily turned her head to Dave, "In Aaron's office" she turned to Penelope, her eyes were empty, something that scared her blonde friend. "Now, play the recording Garcia." Her cold tone froze everyone in the room. Penelope pressed play again and raised the volume. Emily heard the recording and frowned, "Something doesn't add up, the sound, it's obvious it's Aaron but… but there is something." Emily stopped and walked away from the laptop to the other side of the room, she stood in front of the windows looking at Aaron's office. "It's like the words are place together. Like… like they come from different sources." She said turning back to look at the team.

"It's subtle but the inflection changes." Spencer said, Emily was right, something in the audio was wrong.

"We should look at all the press conferences led by Aaron." Emily said. "Garcia, pull all audiences, start looking for the words today, change, will and everything. Reid, I want you here, helping Garcia, try to find how they would do it. Garcia I want to focus on the encrypted file, just pull the tapes and give them to Reid. Tara, the DOJ had a reason to get counterterrorism to put Aaron under surveillance, you and Kate go find Jordan Todd, she worked at the BAU few years back, tell her I need a favor and tell her that family sticks together. Dave, call Joy, and tell her to be careful, someone is targeting us and I don't know to what extend we need to be sure, then call Will. Tell him to be careful and as soon as his shift ends to come here, go to the hospital be with JJ and Matt, actually inform all of our families. Alex, I want you to go through all the people Aaron put away that have the ability to pull this off." Emily turned on her heel to leave. Tara's voice stopping her "What about you?"

"I'll go have a chat with Antonia Slade." Emily said through her teeth.

XXXX

 _Five minutes the box said five minutes, it's been almost five and Emily's nerves were over the roof. She couldn't look at the test. She just couldn't she had to._

 _Taking another deep breath she turned and took the plastic stick in her hands, it was…_

XXXX

"Well well, that's a face I never saw before." Emily looked at the woman in front of her

"My name is SSA Emily Hotchner, you are right we never met before." Slade raised her head; she looked at the brunette woman with renewed interest.

"Hotchner huh."

"Yes, Hotchner, tell me where can I find your son." Emily was met with silence from the older woman "Your son is on a shoot first, ask questions later list right now in everyone's list. SWAT and FBI's especially. You want to know an interesting fact about SWAT? They don't like being manipulated, and that's what your son did. He manipulated them into arresting agent Hotchner. They will kill him! Tell me where to find him."

"I want him taken into custody alive." She said Emily straighten her spine.

"Of course you do, thing is I can't promise you that. And frankly I wouldn't mind seeing him with a bullet in his head." Emily said, her voice was stone cold, almost scared herself. Was she really willing to let a man die?

"You are not going to let them kill him, you took an oath and like you hubby you are too straight laced to break it."

"That was true… till yesterday, when your son had armed men hold my husband in gunpoint in front of my son. Give me his name, or I swear to god I will shoot him myself and throw his corpse at your feet."

XXXX

"Hey" Anderson peaked into Hotch's office, Jack was sitting on his father's chair, Henry was sitting on the couch, both had a stack of papers in front of them along with crayons. "Can I come in?" Henry lowered his head to the papers in front of him again and Jack shrugged. Anderson walked in and closed the door behind him.

"I'm sorry for what happened. I really am, but we are trying our best to help your dad. Is there anything I can do?" he sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk. Jack raised his head from the paper and looked at the man in front of him "Well, I want to see my dad, but Emmy said I couldn't. Can you go see him? Make sure he's alright, tell him I miss him?" Anderson smiled with a sad smile that never reached his eyes "Sure bud. I can do that." Anderson's smile fell and he got up. walking out of the room he couldn't stop the tears from falling, he left the room closing the door behind him leaning against the metal he let the tears fall, those kids, so young, so innocent seen so many horrors in their young life.

"Anderson." The young man took a deep breath, he knew the confrontation was coming, he didn't look forward to it but he knew it was coming.

"Yes agent Rossi."

XXXX

His head was spinning, his ribs hurt, breathing was difficult. He knew challenging Seaton was a bad idea; his brain had told him that, his pride though, beaten and broken, stepped on and bleeding was driving him. We wanted to annoy the bastard, he wanted to get the upper hand once. He wanted control for the first time in the last goddamn 29 hours, he wanted it and he got it for a few minutes, but now his whole body was aching.

He had a swollen cheekbone, split lip, bruised or possibly broken rips and his left knee hurt like hell. He wanted to curl, grip his ribs maybe ease the pain a bit but he couldn't, he was still tied to the goddamn table, his arms stretched over his head, his chair pushed from underneath him , lying on the cold ground difficult to breathe, the pain only maximized.

The door opened but he didn't even bother to get up, "Agent Hotchner?" a voice, a familiar voice, he knew it. He gathered all his strength to try and get up but the owner of the voice was already by his side, his hand was on his back helping him sit down, "Anderson" the young man steadied him, "Are you ok? What happened? Seaton did this?" his eyes were scanning him intensely.

"It's nothing, what are you doing here." Hotch tired to divert the younger man's attention from himself.

"I'm sneaking in, Jack sent me, Agent Prentiss brought him here along with Henry, he told me to tell you that he misses you, and he wanted me to make sure you were alright, I guess good thing I didn't let him come with me." Hotch's eyes opened and focused on Anderson, "Emily is here with Jack?" the left side of his mouth twisted in a half smile, "Yeah, agent Prentiss went to speak to Antonia Slade, Agent Blake is searching old files, find any potential UnSubs with a grunge on the BAU and you particularly, I contacted her and Agent Callahan and they both came to help. Agent Rossi is calling all family members to get them here, under protection, and then he's going to be with agent Jareau and Chief Cruz in the hospital."

"Who is in the hospital why?"

"Chief Cruz had a case of severe exhaustion and mild dehydration which caused his blood pressure to drop and he collapsed, but he's alright now. Agent Jareau spent the night there with him, he is to be released today. Dr. Lewis and Agent Callahan went to find Agent Todd try and get some information on the case from her. And Dr. Reid is looking for any press conferences help by you in the past years where the UnSub could have taken the words for the 911 call." Hotch gave him a pained smile, which fastly turned into a grimace of pain, Anderson reached his hand and gripped Hotch's shoulder. The older man froze under his hand, "Is there anything I can get you, some ice maybe?" Hotch nodded his head negatively, "No, thanks Anderson, you are already in trouble if they find you here, thanks for the information, and it's Lewis, Peter Lewis, he gave probable cause to put me under surveillance." Anderson nodded and took his hand from the older man's shoulder.

"Let me help you up." Anderson reached under his armpits and gripped him tightly while Hotch used his still cuffed hands to grab the table and steady himself. As soon as the older man was standing Anderson picked up the thrown chair and raised it up again, helping the injured man to sit.

"I gotta go, but the team sends their love, and they told me to tell you to stay strong and they'll find the truth, they are right they will, we all will."

With that the younger man squeezed Hotch's hands and turned leaving the room and the battered man alone once more.

XXXX

 _Anderson follower Rossi in the second's office, "Is there anything I can do for you sir?" Anderson was trying to keep his voice as professional as he could._

 _"_ _Yes, I want you to take a seat, I already apologized to Matt for my behavior, and you deserve one too. The way I treated you wasn't fair, it was horrible and you didn't deserve it. I am not trying to excuse myself, it's just that seeing Hotch like that, arrested leaded away in handcuffs like a common criminal… it's like losing a son, and that's a pain I can't go through again. After losing Jason especially I can't lose Hotch. This whole situation puts an enormous amount on pressure on all of us and I chose to unleash it to the wrong people, the ones trying to help. And for that I am going to be forever ashamed of. I am sorry." Anderson was starring at Rossi speechless. "We're fine agent Rossi, you are forgiven." The younger man gave him a tight but real smile and got up, "I need to go… Agent Hotchner's son wanted me to make sure that his father is alright, I'll try sneak in the interview room and talk to him._

 _"_ _Tell him we love him, and to stay strong because we'll find who did this."_

XXXX

"Asher Douglas, that's Slade's son." Emily said. Her jaw was set. She was trying to calm her rapidly beating heart since she left the prison, but was unable to. She walked to the board where three pictures of Aaron were taped there. She slowly traced her finger on his face, three press conferences, she was present in two of them, they were back when they first got together, she remembers the one which the last picture comes from, she was so worried at all the things that could go wrong, the UnSub was targeting cops and they had just put a bright red X on Aaron's back. She was scared to death that she was going to lose him. The only one she didn't watch live was the one in the middle but it was oh so special to her heart. She was in Paris, alone and she just needed to see his face, so she did it she googled him and the first link was an USNT News video, " _Unidentified human remains found on Jacksonville beach"_ and his face, his handsome face was there. She had clicked it and let his voice lull her to sleep, even if he was talking about missing people, some of them already dead…

"Oh my god!" Emily turned her head away from the pictures on the board "What's wrong Garcia?"

"I know how the UnSub got all the personal information on Hotch. The encrypted file, it was a Trojan horse. Oh my god! Hotch had told me he had some problems with his laptop and I gave him a format, this was a trap, I downloaded WinZip for him and there is a new virus going around, I just never thought that this was dangerous because I downloaded from a verified link. The Trojan horse installed itself on the dark side of the hard drive, it's making uninstalling impossible. As soon as it was installed it scanned Hotch's computer and sent out any and all personal info Hotch had in his laptop. All the pictures, all the addresses, everything he ever had, even if he deleted it. So if he had scanned his driver's license in the past it would be found."

"Aaron has a flash disk with all his and Jack's, Haley's, mine and Sean's personal information. He has it locked in the safe, it's a precaution. After everything that happened in the past, he didn't keep any paper information on any of us at home, he had everything he needed in digital form all well kept away, and all password protected and encrypted. Basic level of encryption but still."

"Well they did it though; they used this as a way to get them. They had almost complete power over his computer, they placed the order from there making it look as if Hotch ordered the explosives." Dave said. Emily nodded and sat down on a chair. "We need to get Slade's son. Dave you and Reid take a SWAT unit and go, take him down, dead or alive."

XXXX

Anderson walked fast back to the BAU, he was nervous always looking behind his back, checking if anyone was following him, watching him, he felt as if someone was watching him since he left the interview room. It was stupid he knew that, but the whole sneaking around had him being a bit paranoid.

Pushing the glass doors he saw the Alpha team ready to go. "Hey wait up!" he walked to agent Rossi and pulled him aside, "I spoke with agent Hotchner, he told me that Peter Lewis was the one who gave the DOJ probable cause."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, Hotch didn't knew either, we need to find the tape, we need to know what Lewis said, but I think it's bigger than we thought." Dave nodded to the younger man "You are right Anderson, look go find Kate and Tara, they went to find Jordan, she'll probably be able to get us the tape." Anderson nodded and walked fastly out of the bullpen, David followed him outside the glass doors with Reid hot on his heels.

XXXX

"Look, I want to help you guys, I really do but I need some time." Jordan said she wanted to help them; the whole thing was crazy, who in their right mind would have suspected Hotch, SSA Aaron Hotchner of all people, as a terrorist?

"Hotch doesn't have time, we need everything you have about the case fast." Tara tried to reason with the woman for the millionth time. "Please, we don't have time."

"They are right Jordan, someone from your department, probably SSA Seaton already took a swing or two on Hotch, I've seen him, he had a swollen cheekbone, split lip and was lying on the ground. Jordan if we lose any more time who knows what Seaton will do to Hotch. Emily and Jack will be crushed without him." Tara and Kate turned to the other side of the room, Grant Anderson was standing there, his hands crossed over his chest, their mouths were in think lines. Jordan looked at them, a look or pain on her face

"Alright guys, I'll try get the files as soon as I can, just give me a couple of hours."

XXXX

"Alex did you get anything from the files?" Emily asked the older woman when she saw her entering the room, her face was unreadable, hard and frozen. "I did. It's not good."

"What?"

"Hotch arrested the NSA director few months back, now the man made some threats that he was going to regret it. All that didn't seem important, but I checked and he had often interactions with another man who has a huge grunge with Hotch, Peter Lewis. Over the years Hotch butted heads with a lot of dangerous and powerful people. One of them is still out there with a grudge and a destroyed political career that would benefit from having Hotch proven as the worse of the worst. Former Undersecretary Jackson. Hotch had her spending the last year and a half of her term in hearings about integrity. And if he was so easy to threaten an Interpol officer when Emily was missing I don't even want to think of what he might have done to ensure her safe departure from the country, Hotch is strong-head, he doesn't pull punches, he dives head first in everything he loves. That's bound to piss off people." Alex left the files on the table and sat down on the chair she occupied before.

"Aaron never shied away from confrontation; I always told him this was going to get him into trouble…"

"And apparently it did." Everyone turned their faces to the door on the other side of the room, there she was, a woman they thought they wouldn't see again, a woman that owned them nothing.

"I knew you would forget us." Penelope said through her tears as she walked to the brunette standing at the door and wrapped her arms around her.

XXXX

 _"_ _Excuse me for a moment." Anderson said and walked a bit farther away from Tara and Kate who were waiting at an empty office Jordan led them. He walked outside and searched for a bathroom; he walked inside and locked himself to a stall._

 _"_ _Thanks for calling me back Elle, I really appreciate it."_

 _"_ _It's fine Anderson, you said Hotch was in trouble, what kind of?" the man smiled slightly and proceeded to let her in on everything they had so far on the case. "We need your help. I know that the offer Chief Cruz made you right now is not something you want to consider but it's not about that. Right now is about Hotch and about Jack; he doesn't deserve to lose his father, especially after losing his mother so brutally. If you don't want to come back, to the BAU, to us, that's fine but don't… don't punish Jack for the mistakes we did."_

 _Elle took a deep breath from the other side of the phone, "Alright, I need to find a babysitter first, I can't leave Gideon alone."_

XXXX

"Hey" Jordan walked into the office she had sent Tara, Kate and Anderson to wait. "I found what you asked, and I also searched the security tapes from the room Hotch is held, it was Seaton, I'm so sorry I didn't believe you guys." She said, her big brown eyes were sincere, the BAU agents whispered their thanks and Anderson pressed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before leaving the room.

Jordan walked to the chair and sat down; she wrapped her arms around her tight. This was such a mess… few years back she had promised herself she left the BAU and she would never look back again and for a while she had managed to do just that. But then, then Cruz called with his stupid offer, and the same feeling of rush came over her. It didn't last long, of course, but it was such an amazing feeling while it did. But now… now everything crumbled down like a paper town.

How to stop this?

Tara and Kate walked in the conference room; they saw Emily, Penelope, Alex and another brunette woman sitting there. "Elle! I'm so glad you made it!" Anderson walked by them and went to the new face in the room hugging her lightly. He let the woman from his arms and she turned her attention to the other two women that looked at her "Hey, I'm Elle Greenaway." The woman with the shoulder length brown hair smiled and reached her hand to them "Hey, I'm Tara Lewis." Tara took Elle's hand smiling and stepped aside to let Kate introduce herself "Kate Callahan, nice meeting you."

"Pleasure is all mine" Elle said smiling, she liked those two, things had changed in the BAU in the last ten years she hadn't been there. She liked the changes she saw. The terror that she feared would consume her didn't seem to linger that much longer there anymore.

"What did you get?" Emily said, she got up from her seat and walked to the two other women "Did Jordan helped?"

"Yeah, she did. You know that Hotch told Anderson that Peter Lewis was the one who gave the DOJ the probable cause to put Hotch under surveillance, well Jordan gave us the tape with his testimony." Kate stated, they looked at each other, debating whether or not they should tell Emily about everything else that happened in the damned interrogation room, one look at their eyes and they all agreed that right now wasn't the time.

"Here" Tara paced the disk to Garcia who quickly walked to her laptop. Emily nodded to her and they all gathered around the blonde woman to hear what was on the disk.

" _Last year dosed agent Hotchner with a strong dissociative drug"_

 _"_ _What does this drug do?"_

 _"_ _I try to get my victims to see their worst nightmares, but agent Hotchner, oh, he went to his own direction."_

 _"_ _What do you mean by that?"_ Emily felt her throat constricting, she knew what this bastard had done to Aaron, sort of, but this was a very sensitive matter and Aaron still felt uncomfortable to talk about it.

 _"_ _He started rumbling about how I killed his team, which I expected it, but then he started to laugh, like he was delighted. And I have to be honest with you, that moment I was scared of him… of what he would do to his own team, his son."_

 _"_ Turn it off!" Emily said turning her head away, "The bastard is lying! Aaron wouldn't be happy if anything happened to the team, and what's this bullshit about him being a danger to Jack? Aaron would rather die before he hurts Jack!" Elle looked around the room, all the doors were closed but she knew that the building had paper thin walls. She walked to the rumbling woman and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder "Emily, we know that, we need to know what Lewis said to them, if this is too much then go, take a walk clear your head, go be with Jack and Henry, do what helps." Elle said, Emily rose her head and looked straight into Elle's eyes, a small smile grazed her lips, it was short lived but it was enough to reassure Elle that Emily was alright.

"Continue Pen."

 _"_ _I was scared of whom that man really was."_

 _"_ _Did he say anything else? You mentioned that he was rumbling."_

 _"_ _He started talking about his wife, about how I killed her and that he would make me pay, but the sardonic smile was on his face, it was like he was enjoying it. And then after a while he started laughing darkly telling me how I did him a favor by getting rid of the dead weight on his shoulders that the Bureau had dump on him. He told me that he was glad to see Dr. Reid's brains blown out of his head, joked saying that he wasn't that special after that. He talked about how glad was that the blood had painted TA Garcia's clothes red because her obnoxious colored clothes were giving him a headache. Then he proceeded and said how SSA Morgan wasn't that tough guy anymore, while he was dying at his feet. He called his so called friend, SSA Rossi and insufferable fifteen year old crybaby that would finally stop bothering him, he seemed to freeze when I asked him about SSA Jareau but then… then he smiled even wider, and said 'That bitch deserved what she got'. But what really scared me was the ease he talked about me killing his wife. He called her a 'dead weight', 'a slut', 'an insufferable bitch' he said how he wished she had died four years back so he wouldn't have to risk his career for her worthless self. The look on his face was dark and scary. He talked about how glad he was she never got pregnant because at least he doesn't have another dead weight."_

"Stop it please. I… I need to." Emily had paled considerly and she walked out of the room in shaky legs. Tara looked at the rest "Go on, I'll find her" and with that she left the room. She looked around trying to locate the distraught woman. She finally found her hiding away in Morgan's old office.

"Need company?" Emily stayed silent; Tara took that as an invitation, hoping she wasn't wrong and steeped in closing the door behind her. "You can't let what Lewis said about Hotch get to you. We all know that it's now true." Emily raised her head, slowly whipping the tears from her eyes

"I knew that." The puzzled look on Tara's eyes made Emily continue "Aaron and I have been trying to have a baby for years. We got married in 2008 it was after a case in Vegas, we got a little drunk and our subconscious took over, we've been dating for a little over three months. Aaron would say how he had already planned our life for us. We woke up found we got married, we gave it a try. When the whole Doyle fiasco happened, I was pregnant. Barely a month, Aaron didn't knew, neither did I. I lost the baby, when Doyle stabbed me I lost the baby. It took me three years to tell him. Aaron wanted that child so much… I saw him mourning, breaking down. He would never consider the baby as a dead weight. Someone fed him information, and Lewis being the psychopath he is twisted them in a way that'll cause most harm." Emily had mostly pulled herself back together. "It worked. The bastard succeeded."

"He got to you." Tara said as a matter of fact and now that much as a question. "He got to all of us."

XXXX

Reid and Dave got Slade's son, they managed to do so fast and calmly. What he told them though… they still were trying to wrap their heads around it. They should have known, they should have known that the whole mess wouldn't go away that fast. They should have known that they would face trouble.

"We need to find out when they are planning on detonating the bombs; we need to know who the target is." Dave said

"And most importantly to keep Eric Rawdon from succeeding." Reid added.

The two of them drove to the BAU this thing was so much more dangerous than they thought. Dave parked the car and ripped the Kevlar vest from his torso, "Rawdon couldn't have planned this on his own, there is something missing here. Something isn't right. He doesn't have the needed intelligence to pull this whole thing off. The whole plan was too sophisticated. We need to find out who wants Hotch destroyed so badly and has that much power to pull it off." The two men walked to the elevators "Well Hotch has pissed off too many people in the past. It's normal that he has many enemies in this city."

"He's also the son in law of a very powerful ambassador and in dept to a quite powerful congressman. He is liked among the attorneys in the city, the general U.S. attorney as well. He's not someone to be messed with. Not to mention that he is friends with the FBI assistant director since their first steps in the bureau."

"Do you think that maybe we should start calling favors?" Reid asked as soon as they were in the safety of the elevator.

"I am not sure but maybe we should. At least so we can get Hotch transferred to our custody." The doors to the elevator opened and the two men came face to face with Anderson "Sir, we got something, and Mrs. Greenaway is here." Spencer's eyes widened "Elle?" Anderson smiled softly and nodded, Spencer's smiled widened and left Dave behind walking to the conference room. "What did the team found?" Dave asked

"Well, there is a possibility that Peter Lewis is working with Brian Cochran." Dave closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "This is a mess" he murmured under his breath "did Jordan got us the testimony Lewis gave?"

"Yes sir, the team already saw it. It's bad sir." Dave patted Anderson's shoulder "Good job Grant, go to the hospital, be with JJ and Matt, don't let them out of your side, I trust you to keep an eyes on them all the time. When Matt is discharged get them to my place." Dave searched in his pockets and found the keys he was looking for "Here, take the keys." Anderson took and the keys and nodded to the older man. Both of them walked into the bullpen, Anderson walking to his desk and picking his things up and Dave walking up the catwalk.

He was planning on going to his office, he really was but as he passed Aaron's office he looked inside and saw Jack sitting on his father's chair. For a moment, just a short moment he thought it was Aaron. The boy was probably doing his homework, not writing gruesome reports but their posture was so similar. He smiled and turned back entering the room.

"Hey boys." Both boys turned their heads and looked at the older man entering the room. "Anderson sent me to tell you that your dad is alright. And that he misses you too." Dave said. Jack lowered his head again focusing on the open book in front of him "And why didn't he came here?"

Dave took a deep breath; the boy apparently had got Aaron's tone too. "Because he needed to go get Aunt JJ and Uncle Matt from the hospital." Henry looked at Dave with his big blue eyes wide."Is mommy ok?" Dave turned to the younger boy and sat down next to him "Of course she is bud. Uncle Matt was feeling a bit ill so we got him to the hospital."

"Is it because of me?" Jack asked his little hazel eyes filled with worry and guilt. My god father and son couldn't be more alike even if they tried. "No, it's not. Uncle Matt had a lot of work and he didn't take care of himself that well. He was just too tired." Jack nodded but the feeling of guilt didn't leave his eyes completely.

"Uncle Dave, can I go see my mommy? I was really mean to her." Henry said, his eyes filled with tears and Dave smiled despite his own. "Sure bud. Let me get Uncle Grant to get you. Jack would you like to go with Henry?" Jack looked up, he seemed to consider it for a while "Sure, but I want to talk to Uncle Spencer and Miss Tara before." Dave smiled and nodded "Sure big guy."

Anderson was mesmerized at the picture he looked in front of him in the office of his unit chief. The two boys seemed to have filled the gap with Rossi and he was glad about it.

"Grant, can you please come over for a bit." The younger man nodded and walked to Rossi. "Can you get the kids to see JJ and Matt?"

"Sure."

"Good. Get Henry ready and Jack and I will be here in awhile."

Dave led Jack to the conference room where he knew the rest of the team was. Emily and Tara had just returned, they were sitting on the couch, Tara was chatting with Alex who was sitting on a chair in front of them and Emily was looking at her phone. Penelope was starring at her computer with Elle discussing with Reid the case. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw the door open.

"Jack, baby what's going on?" Emily got up from her seat immediately and walked to the boy gripping Dave's hand as tight as his small one could.

"I need to talk to Uncle Spencer and Miss Tara." He said silently to Emily who smiled widely.

"Of course." She kissed him on the forehead and stood up taking his hand from Dave. "Spencer, Tara, Jack need to talk to you, how about you go to Dave's office?"

XXXX

The door closed behind Emily, Jack, Tara and Spencer when Kate walked back in the conference room. "Dave, we need to tell you something, something we learned from Jordan." Her voice was dark making Dave freeze. "What?" he asked.

"Seaton, he… he took a swing on Hotch, maybe more." Dave's eyes widened and he turned to Garcia, she gasped and the tears he hoped he would never see in her eyes again making another appearance.

"Garcia, hack into the security tapes and find out what Seaton did, enough is enough!"

XXXX

"You wanted to talk to us Jack?" Spencer said, he sat down on the chair next to Jack who was sitting next to Emily on the couch. Tara moved a chair from Dave's office and placed it across from Emily and Jack.

"I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you. I don't hate you. I know you are worried about my daddy and you aren't the bad guys. I was just worried about him too. But now Uncle Grant went and saw him and told me he is alright." A small smiled brightened his little face and Emily smiled at his enthusiasm. Spencer smiled widely while Tara's smile was tight and while Jack didn't notice Emily certainly did.

"It's okay Jack" the boy smiled at Spencer and walked to him, Spencer pulled the boy in his arms and hugged him tightly. "Don't worry we'll get your dad back." he said softly in the boy's ear.

"Thank you uncle Spencer." Jack kissed Reid on the cheek and smiling climbed off his lap going to Tara. She got out of the chair and kneeled in front of Jack. "You don't have to apologize Jack, when we are worried; we all do things we don't mean. Families forgive each other." She smiled and hugged Jack who wrapped his smaller hands around her

"Thank you Aunt Tara."

XXXX

 **A/N: The end of chapter 7, voila! Lots of things happened in this one. Next one we'll see Hotch again. The team will race through time to get Hotch out. Also I am thinking of going the canon way and bring Hayden in the story as well. I am not so sure about it. I will defiantly be bringing Joy, Shawn and Kai. As always let me know what you are thinking, if you liked the chapter or not.**

 **And a little something till next time…**

 _She used every favor she had, every string she could she pulled, she didn't care at all. All that really mattered was that her husband was in the building and she had to see him. And so she did, she threatened and yelled and begged and everything. And it was worth it. As she walked to the interviewing room she knew it was all worth it._


	9. Explosive force

**Chapter 8:Explosive force.**

 **A/N: Hello everyone, next chapter is here! Hope you'll enjoy it. Thanks for the reviews, I've had a problem and while I did receive the email with your reviews they wouldn't appear on the site and I couldn't replay. So thank you a lot about them, I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter too. In this the puzzle is finally coming together and we are one step closer to the end… (?)**

 _Previously_

 _"_ _It's okay Jack" the boy smiled at Spencer and walked to him, Spencer pulled the boy in his arms and hugged him tightly. "Don't worry we'll get your dad back." he said softly in the boy's ear._

 _"_ _Thank you Uncle Spencer." Jack kissed Reid on the cheek and smiling climbed off his lap going to Tara. She got out of the chair and kneeled in front of Jack. "You don't have to apologize Jack, when we are worried; we all do things we don't mean. Families forgive each other." She smiled and hugged Jack who wrapped his smaller hands around her_

 _"_ _Thank you Aunt Tara."_

Chapter 8: Explosive force

She used every favor she had, every string she could she pulled, she didn't care at all. All that really mattered was that her husband was in the building and she had to see him. And so she did, she threatened and yelled and begged and everything. And it was worth it. As she walked to the interviewing room she knew it was all worth it. "This way ma'am" said a new (probably) agent showing her a closed door to her left. The young man took a step back and she stood in front of the closed door. She was getting cold feet. She wanted to see him so much, but who knew how he was going to find him. Would she find her husband on the other side of the door? It took her just two minutes to decide that she needed to see him so much more than she cared about what she was going to face. After all she was there after Foyet and Peter Lewis, what could be worse than that?

She turned the handle and walked in, he was cuffed to the table in the middle of the room, still in his suit and tie, his head was lying on his right arm, and even with his swollen left cheekbone and split lower lip he looked peaceful. The sound of the door closing startled him and his eyes flew open, he raised his head and looked around the room, before settling his sight on her. "Em." He said, a faint smile appeared on his face but soon turned into a winch. Emily walked fastly to his side kneeling down next to him. Her left hand reached for his swollen cheekbone "Oh baby." She said under her breath "What happened?" she asked him tracing softly the bruise she found there.

"That? Nothing, Seaton is a jealous son of a bitch." Something like a chuckle left his lips and Emily couldn't help but roll her eyes. She stood up climbing on the table sitting next to his hands. "And you had to start a pissing contest with the agent in charge of the case, how alpha male of you." Her tone, to someone who doesn't know her seemed light and joking but Aaron did know better, she was slightly pissed at him.

"Well that bastard started talking with a think Bostonian accent and brought up Foyet and Doyle and Gideon's death and I brought up what I knew was going to piss him off." He knew that this wasn't the best explanation he could give to Emily but right now, with his whole body throbbing he wasn't in position to try and find a better one. Emily reached and took his hands in hers. A small smile appeared on her lips. "Just, try not to pull his strings anymore." She leaned forward and kissed his nose softly before placing a kiss on his lips.

"Too long" Aaron breathed when they parted.

"I don't want to be a mood breaker but… did Seaton show you Lewis' testimony?" a dark look appeared on his face, the soft smile dropped from his lips and she felt him trying to pull his hands from hers. "Aaron?"

"Yeah, I couldn't see the whole thing. He made me hear it… I never said those things, Emily…" he turned his head to the other side and she leaned forward, she placed a finger under his chin getting him to face her "I know. Aaron I know you haven't said those things, I know he was lying. It's okay. I need to know who would have had that information; Lewis was clearly fed those things, which would have had that?" she cupped his cheek mindful of the swollen cheekbone; Aaron thought didn't seem to mind as he leaned towards the warmth of her palm. "Don't know. There are many people I've pissed off. I'm not really liked." He said.

"Aaron, who in the bureau would like to see you… out." he closed his eyes tightly, taking a couple of deep breaths. "It's… a stretch but Roger Stafford, he never… we never saw eye to eye." Emily nodded she remembered Stafford, he used to be the Unit Chief of bravo team in the BAU. They never had really worked together but the rumor mile in the bureau used to circulate that he was out for Aaron's job. That was until five years ago when he got the promotion to transition to run the Los Angeles field office. From there he was on the fast track and just six months ago he was promoted to Deputy Director. A position he held with Aaron's friend Bernard "Bern" Tolbert. She never liked Stafford but she never had paid much attention to him either. She bit her lip and smiled, her right hand covered his shoulders softly, a hiss left his lips that had Emily pulling her hand as if it burned her.

"Aaron?" his eyes were closed tightly and he shake his head.

"I'm okay… just… I'm okay." His breath was rugged and Emily felt the blood freezing in her veins. "Aaron, you are not okay. Are you having trouble breathing?"She got off the table and both her hands reached for his shoulders. "Aaron tell me what's going on!"

"Noth-"

"Don't you dare to tell me it's nothing! I swear to god I'm gonna strip you naked if I have to!" any other day Aaron was going to use that maybe make a joke about how she always wanted to get him naked. Emily half expected it, to be true but when after a few minutes when his head hung low and his eyes closed she realized just how bad the situation was.

"Aaron." She pulled him closer to her chest "Tell me where it hurts." She whispered in his hair. "My knee started swelling; I think I have three or four bruised ribs. A couple of them might be broken, the rest are just pumps and bruises." Emily cupped his face with her hands and looked at him, pain and anger mixed in her dark eyes. "Did anyone call a doctor?"

"I'm arrested for terrorism Em. We both know that medical privileges aren't something I have, I'm lucky they haven't shipped me off to Gitmo yet." A dark chuckled left his lips.

"Don't say that. I'll kill him… I swear I will" her jaw was clenched and Aaron leaned forward he softly kissed her jaw, feeling it relax and then her lips. "If I can't start a pissing contest with Seaton neither can you Em."

"Just… promise me you'll try get out of this in one peace. Don't provoke him, alright, for me?" he reluctantly agreed. "There is something else I need to tell you-"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mrs. Hotchner." Emily's whole body froze, she turned her head and looked straight into Seaton's dull and gray eyes.

"Mr. Seaton, it's agent, not Mrs., I leave that title to your wife. You have one right?" The man chuckled

"Humor. I like that in a woman." Emily could hear Aaron growling from behind her and she just slightly understood why he wanted to piss off Seaton, that man was even more insufferable than she remembered.

"Too bad no woman finds anything interesting in you right?" hear tone was cold, she could swear she could almost see Seaton's veins pop.

"Really though a woman like you what did you find in that lowlife scum over there?" this time Aaron's growl could easily be heard and something in Emily snapped for good. She lunged at him pushing him to the wall by his shirt collar. One hand was gripping the crispy white shirt and the other was pulling his dark blue tie cutting off his airway.

"That lowlife scum as you called him is my husband, and he is ten thousand times the man you'd ever be. If you lay your slimy dirty fingers on him ever again I will break your bones one by one." The man in her hands was struggling trying to suck in air but she wasn't backing down, his face was turning purple and she didn't really found it in herself to stop

"EMILY!" she snapped and let Seaton drop on the floor. Aaron was standing up, he had pushed the chair behind him, a look of pure horror crossed his face, she realized just now how close she came to killing a man and it scared her… it scared her to death. "He's not worth it sweetheart. He's not worth it." She took a few steps back and looked down at her hands; she had really almost killed a man and didn't even flinch.

"I hope you said your goodbyes, Hotchner you are off to federal prison, they'll love you in there." Seaton said as soon as he regained his voice. Two armed agents walked into the room and walked to Aaron, Emily felt panic "No, wait! Wait!" she yelled but they didn't listen to her, she watched as Aaron was pulled away from her and she was unable to stop it. "Aaron!" he stopped for a moment and turned his head "Emily, tell Jack I love him, okay. I love you." And with that he was gone, the elevator doors closed and his face disappeared. Seaton walked closer to her and Emily turned to leave, the last thing she needed was to be in the same room with that asshole. Before she could flee the room though she felt his hand grip her arm tightly…

"You'll regret it" he hissed to her ear, Emily felt her blood run cold, all the fury she had felt few minutes ago all replaced by terror. She still had her stubbornness and someone else to protect from this creep though.

"So will you." She turned her head and faced Seaton, her eyes locked to his, trying to channel her best glare.

"Well you attacked a federal agent sweetheart, I just put a criminal where he belongs." She saw his pupils dilate and felt sick to her stomach.

"Sue me then." She whipped her arm back releasing the hold he had on her and started walking towards the exit.

"Hope you've said your goodbyes, it's not like he'll last long there before he ends up dead."

XXXX

Anderson drove the two boys to the hospital, JJ called him few minutes ago telling him that Matt was going to be discharged within the day, so he took the kids and drove to the hospital as fast as he could. The two boys were silent in the pack seat.

"You guys ok? You're too silent." He asked, Jack raised his head and looked at Anderson through the mirror.

"Nothing" he said. His mood seemed to be better than it was yesterday, something that made him extremely happy. "Daddy was alright, right?" he asked, Anderson looked straight ahead and bit his lip slightly, "Sure, he is just fine." He didn't manage to take his eyes from the road even for a minute; he was convinced that Jack would be able to figure out that he was lying."That's all that's in your mind?" Anderson asked.

"Well there is another thing, but Emmy said she needs to talk to daddy first, because it's a secret." The phrase caught Anderson's attention and he raises his eyes for a while, he saw a half smile on the boys face and a glint in his eyes that he hadn't seen in a long time.

"What about you Henry? What's in your mind?" he knew that if the boy didn't want to tell him the secret there was no reason for him to push, it wasn't going to change a thing.

"Nothing, I just want to see mommy, I miss her." The blonde boy didn't even raised his head, he kept his eyes down on the coloring book in his hands, Anderson guessed it was because of something else, and not just because it was an interesting book.

"Well we'll be there in about ten." Anderson said and saw the two boys turn their heads and face each other.

The rest of the ride to the hospital was short and for that Anderson was glad, so glad. It wasn't that he didn't like to chat with the younger boys, because he did, but right now he didn't know exactly what to talk about. Star wars and The Avengers suddenly didn't seem like the right topic anymore.

He parked the car close to the entrance and led the kids to the entrance "Sorry, can you point me to the room of Mateo Cruz?" he asked the nurse in the front desk. She looked up from her computer and smiled at Anderson "Sure sir, Mr. Cruz is in room 215." Anderson thanked her and took the kids' hands walking to the elevators. He was holding the hands of the two boys, they were both extremely silent, but with everything that had happened in the last 48 hours who could really blame them…

XXXX

Emily returned to the BAU she run to Aaron's office and shut the door behind her. Tears were running down her face, she knew that somewhere in the vitriol in Seaton's words there was truth. Aaron still was a federal agent and in a federal prison, one he contributed in filling, he wouldn't be liked, it'll truly be a matter of time before the rest of the inmates catch a whiff of him and start on their revenge. She could only imagine the hell they'll put him through.

She walked to his desk and sat down, his scent, the familiar scent of the man she married all those years back, filled the air around her. She kicked off her shoes and raised her legs, her arms hugged her knees and she dropped her head back. She had so many happy memories in this office, late night meals, drinks after the case with Dave talking about sweet nothings, declarations, of love, of commitment, and promises, promises of a future. A future which was currently growing inside her…

This wasn't how she had imagined their lives would be, she had imagined the whole thing in her head differently. Some ways cute, some sweet, some sexy…

Over dinner she and Jack prepared, after a hard case to show him that good still exist even if they've just seen the worse of the worse humanity had to offer. In their bed right after their breaths returned to normal. "Accidently" leaving her blood test on his desk, or the pregnancy test on a visible spot in the bathroom… any other way than that…

She heard a knock on the door, before she could answer the door cracked open. She turned and saw Dave standing there.

"What's wrong bella?" he asked walking to her and sitting on a chair in front of her

"I went and saw Aaron." A sharp breath left his lips. "You knew? Did you know what Seaton did?" he nodded his head softly

"I did, I did cara. When you and Jack left to talk to Spencer and Tara, the rest told me. How was he?"

"He had a swollen cheekbone. Said a couple of rips were probably broken, three or four bruised for sure, and his knee started to swell as well. He had trouble breathing Dave. I don't know if it was from the pain or something worse but he had trouble breathing. And… Seaton transferred him to federal prison. We gotta do something Dave, Aaron won't last there, the other inmates figure out he is there and they'll make him their punching bag before they kill him!" Dave's jaw clenched,

"Emily, we'll get him back, don't worry, Aaron is a strong man he can defend himself. Sure he might get few bumps and bruises but he'll get back and he'll be back to normal in no time." He tried to reassure her and maybe reassure himself in the process.

"I know that Dave, but I need him here, with me. I can't…" more and more tears fell from her eyes "I can't do this without him."

"Do what?"

"Raise our baby."

XXXX

"Mattie! Are you getting ready? I swear it's taking you longer than Penelope to do so." JJ had a small smile on her face which only widened and the string of swears that left Matt's mouth after she called him. He came out of the bathroom looking far healthier than he did yesterday, the color had returned to his cheeks, the glint in his eyes was back and his smile… he was finally smiling.

"Mattie." She walked and hugged him tightly, she felt his hands sneak around her back "I got so worried about you" she whispered against his shoulder

"No need to worry Jen. I'm alright." She pulled back and saw another smile grace his face.

"Good, imagine if we had to get a new Section Chief" she said smiling "It could be someone worse." The two friends laughed still in each others' arms.

"Well, who's going to drive me home?" Matt asked. "You don't have your car here do you?"

"No, Anderson is coming along with Henry and Jack. Michael, Will, Derek, Savannah and Hank are waiting for us in Dave's place." Matt's eyebrows arched "Rossi's?"

"Yeah. He said it's better if we're all together." JJ removed herself from Matt's hug and walked to the other side of the room to gather the few things Will had dropped off for her and Matt last night before going back to work.

"Mommy!" JJ turned and saw Henry running to her a genuine warm smile crossed her face. "Hey baby." She took the blonde boy in her arms hugging him tightly. "Sorry I was mean mommy." Henry whispered to her ear giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. JJ felt the tears filling up her eyes. "Its okay baby, just next time you talk to me alright?" Henry nodded and JJ let him on the floor. His little hand was still grasping hers tightly and she couldn't stop smiling "You okay Jack?" JJ asked, Jack flashed to her a wide smile showing both his dimples which he inherit from his father "Yes Aunt JJ. Uncle Grant talked to daddy and he is alright. And Emmy and I have a secret!" JJ smiled with the smile and happiness the boy radiated. "Really Anderson? Hotch is alright?" Anderson forced a smile, one that both Matt and JJ realized just how fake it was before he answered "Of course. I spoke to him, everything's ok."

"Shall we get going? I'd like to take a shower BEFORE my girlfriend comes from Los Angeles."

"Pff, Mattie!"

"What?"

"What's Katie doing in L.A.?"

"Her mom was sick, she went to take care of her for a while."

The five of them left the room; Anderson was holding Matt's overnight bag walking a little behind from the rest of them. JJ and Matt were walking side by side, talking, laughing, teasing each other. Henry was safely tucked in his mother's arms, while Jack, in surprise to all of the three adults, was walking between JJ and Matt clutching Matt's hand.

They left the hospital and Anderson led them to the SUV Matt took the front seat while JJ sat in the back with the boys. The sound of the mother of two talking exited with her seven year old and his ten year old friend about superheroes and comics was somewhat relaxing.

The ride to Rossi's mansion was easy, nice and mostly without uneasy questions. They got out of the car, Anderson reaching for the keys Rossi gave him and grabbing Matt's bag from the trunk, while JJ helped the boys out of the car. The two young boys started running to the door which opened revealing Will with Michael. "Daddy!" Henry smiled and hugged Will's legs "Hey Uncle Will." Jack said with the smile that had almost become permanent in his face.

"Hey bud, hey big guy." Jack and Henry walked in the house running and probably going outside to the back yard where Rossi had installed some swings for them and his grandson.

"Hey Matt, you gave us a scare man." Will placed an arm on Matt's shoulder giving a tight squeeze "Yeah, sorry to worry you. I'm going to see what Rossi has in his kitchen to eat I'm getting hungry again. I can get Mike too." With that and a smile Matt walked past by Will who gave him his godson and walked to the inside of the house. "Sweetheart." Will raised his now free hands and took JJ's; she walked closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. For a few moments neither spoke, they just stood there on the front porch of Rossi's mansion hugging each other in silence. "This whole thing is a mess Will."

"I know love. I know. But we'll get through it, like we did before, we'll do it again." She nodded and kissed him softly. They stayed for a moment there, just touching foreheads, content to be simply breathing the same air.

"Do you have to go back in the office?" Will asked softly.

"Hmm, yeah." The two of them parted, Will placed another kiss on her forehead, "Let's go inside, you can say goodbye to the kids before you leave."

XXXX

Bern walked in the BAU for the first time after what felt like years. So many things had changed since the last time he was there. He walked up to the catwalk standing in front of his friend's office door.

"Hello Bern."

"Emily" he sat on one of the chairs looking at the woman in front of him. He could see why Aaron was smitten with her, why he worships the ground she steps on. Apart from her obvious beauty she was apparently fierce and a sense of strength around her.

"I suppose you know why I called you here." She said, she was all business she didn't have much time to lose after all.

"I know. John is going to visit Aaron as we speak, I was going to but he wanted to visit him personally." Emily smiled "Thank you. You know as well as I do that Aaron in a federal prison won't last long. Is there any way he can be transferred back to our custody here, till all this is cleared?"

"I'm sorry; you know it's not possible. Unless you find something that indefinitely proves that Aaron is innocent, I can't do anything."

"There is another thing I need to talk to you about. When I went to visit Aaron I found him in a terrible condition, SSA Seaton took a few swings at him, Garcia has the tapes if you want them, but I want him to pay for that." Shock took over his expression, he knew that Seaton never liked Aaron, he knew that full well but to go as far as assault a federal agent? "I'll see what I can do, for now he will be suspended though. Don't worry Emily, everything will be okay." As he said that and before Emily could respond a blastening explosion rocked the building shattering all the windows of the office.

XXXX

"Oh my!" Penelope murmured under her breath.

"Pen?" Elle asked and walked to the technical analyst.

"They… they are planning… oh my god… they are planning a prison break!" she gasped pushing the laptop for Elle to see. The brunette woman leaned forward and saw the email on the screen.

 _A storm is coming, make sure you make his bed. The sky will open and the walls will break down on their builders. Like the sun after the storm we'll rise and we'll shine._

"The sky will open and the walls will break down on their builders." Alex mused. "They mean us. The walls of prison will break down on us." Everyone was silent in the conference room; the realization of the bigger picture that started to form in front of them was as disturbing as any.

"They don't mean only us, it's mainly Hotch, he was transferred to federal prison today, that's where they'll start, by killing him." Kate said. A sob left Penelope, Elle turned her head away looking on the other side, she felt the tears filling her eyes, this whole thing was a mess. Too much of a mess.

"We need to get him out of there." Tara said.

All of the nodded but before they could move or do anything else, the building shake beneath their feet and the deafening sound of glass breaking threw them on the ground…

XXXX

Aaron looked around him, his cell was small, he was finally out of his clothes, but the orange jumpsuit they gave him made him miss his bloodstained suit. He was also finally checked by a doctor who confirmed that he didn't had any broken ribs. That didn't lessen the pain and he was sure that they weren't going to give him any painkillers, even if he asked. Small mercy he was at least alone in the cell. He stopped pacing when he saw the guard walking up and down the corridor. The man, a black young man, no older than thirty looked vaguely familiar to Aaron.

"Agent Hotchner? Is that you?" he whispered coming closer to the cell bars. Aaron jumbed from the bed and walked closer "What are you doing here?" Hotch took a closer look at the man, something snapped, he knew exactly where he knew him from. His brother, Steve Ward, a Georgetown student who was abducted two years back, he was the third young African American law school student who was abducted from campus. They found him just before the UnSub killed him, it was one of the worse cased Hotch had encountered in a long time, young people just starting their lives killed brutally, abducted and treated like slaves for days before they finally beg for death, for no other reason than their skin color was, to this day, sickening to him.

"Matthew right?" he remembered the man now, working two jobs to support his brother through law school. They had lost their father in the line of duty and their mother five years back to cancer, but they still endured, still moved forward.

"Yes. What are you doing here?" Hotch smiled to the young man.

"Big story. How's your brother?"

"He's fine, he took his degree. You didn't answer my question agent Hotchner why are you here?"

"They think I wanted to blow up the FBI building. Kill my family and friends. Not see my son growing up, not hugging my wife again. They think I'm a crazy bastard just like the ones I helped them put away." Anger, hot boiling fury boiled inside him and was currently burning him alive.

"Do you need a lawyer? I can call Steve." Hotch's eyes widened, he had expected the man to turn his back. just like almost everyone else had done. Not this, defiantly not this.

"I'd appreciate that." A smile crossed his face for the first time since he was ripped away from Emily. The man smiled as well. It was a sobering moment for both of them…

…till the alarms broke the silence around them.

 **A/N: I know I had said that the story was going to be about ten chapters long but it's just not enough…**

 **So this chapter we've had a lot in a little time. The puzzle is now almost complete.**

 **Next chapter we'll have probably the last confrontation.**

 **Hope you liked it. Let me know what you are thinking.**

 **Till next time guys, bye and have fun!**

 **Sneak Peak!**

"What's going on? Matthew?" Hotch was puzzled as soon as the alarm sounded the young man stiffened.

"Listen to me agent Hotchner. I need you to stay here and take cover till I come back to get you." He reached for his ankle taking off a small gun passing it between the bars "Take this and take cover." Hotch took the gun and nodded to the man who took off fast towards the way he had come few minutes ago…

[U1]Chapter 8


	10. Ready or not… here I come…

**Chapter 9:Ready or not… here I come…**

 **A/N: Here is the new chapter, I hope you'll guys enjoy it, because I loved writing it. I'm sorry for the delay, I had the chapter ready yesterday but my laptop close before I managed to save it (Damn you battery!) and I had to rewrite it. In the end I think it came out even better!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer in chapter 1**

 _Chapter 9_

 _Previously_

 _"_ _Do you need a lawyer? I can call Steve." Hotch's eyes widened, he had expected the man to turn his back. just like almost everyone else had done. Not this, defiantly not this._

 _"_ _I'd appreciate that." A smile crossed his face for the first time since he was ripped away from Emily. The man smiled as well. It was a sobering moment for both of them_ _…_

 _…_ _till the alarms broke the silence around them._

Chapter 9

"What's going on? Matthew?" Hotch was puzzled as soon as the alarm sounded the young man stiffened.

"Listen to me agent Hotchner. I need you to stay here and take cover till I come back to get you." He reached for his ankle taking off a small gun passing it between the bars "Take this and take cover." Hotch took the gun and nodded to the man who took off fast towards the way he had come few minutes ago. Hotch walked to the corner of the room trying to figure out where to take cover. He was clutching the Glock Matthew had given him, the small cold metal too familiar in his hand. Identical to his backup gun.

He heard gunshots in the distance, and shouting too much shouting and all he could hope was that Matthew was alright… all he could think though was what Emily wanted to tell him before Seaton walked in and how he wasn't going to ever figure it out now…

XXXX

Emily got up from the floor coughing; her hands flew to her stomach immediately. "Emily? Are you?" Bern looked at her with widen eyes.

"Please don't… don't ask me… not, not now. I'm alright." She said. Looking around her dust and shattered glass had filled the once clean room.

"We need to move, see if everyone else is alright." Bern had walked to the now open window and looked down, Emily saw his stance changing. "Bern?"

"This was my car. John."

"The director?"

XXXX

"Everyone alright?" Dave asked as he got up from the floor. He counted as everyone one by one got up from the floor, first Elle, then Tara and Spencer, then Penelope, and lastly Alex with Kate.

"Yeah, I think we're fine." Elle said "Was this a bomb?" she asked.

"I think so. Okay, Penelope gather all your laptops, we're evacuating." Dave walked to the catwalk, the bullpen was half full

"Everyone! Listen up! I want you to take your jackets and briefcases and exit the building. Please take the stairs and be careful, report to your unit chief in the entrance. There seemed to have been an explosion in the back parking lot so please remain at the front entrance of the building. Thank you." Dave turned around and saw Bern Tolbert and Emily exiting Aaron's office.

"You both okay?" Emily nodded, but Bern was too shocked.

"The bomb was in my car. John took it to go visit Aaron in prison. It's John… it's John." Dave's eyes widened. "We need to figure it out. If that's true who's going to take over, you or Roger?"

"Me, I'm older in the position."

"Alright, we found something, we need to talk, evacuate and we'll meet in an hour at my place, Bern do what you have to do and then meet us there if you can." The man nodded and started walking to the glass doors where the most agents were standing right now trying to exit the building. Emily walked back to Aaron's office, grapping the picture of the three of them in the park, putting it in her bag and the extra jacket Aaron always kept in the cabinet behind his desk wrapping it around her shoulder letting his scent surround her before she walked out of the room and the building.

XXXX

When JJ reached Quantico she was greeted with the most chaotic sight she had ever faced in all the years she worked in the building. Hundreds of agents and other FBI personnel all were trying to fit in the small entryway in front of the academy. And the smoke, my god the smoke, from the back of the building there was so much smoke that shocked her. She looked around franticly trying to find her family but she couldn't see anything. Pushing through people slowly and steadily she managed to spot Tara and Kate not too far away from where she was "Tara!" she yelled and saw the taller women scan the crowd around her "JJ?" JJ raised her hand and started waving. "Here!" a sign of relieve left the other woman who started walking fastly towards her.

"What happened? Are you two okay?" JJ asked, frantically trying to check them over and see if there is any injuries on them, she was glad to see that both her completely fine.

"Car bomb, in the back parking lot… we don't know how many casualties but there is the possibility that the director is dead." Kate said. JJ shakes her head not believing what she had heard.

"First Hotch now the director? Who are these people? What do they want?"

"I guess… to see the world burn." Tara said turning her head away from the terrible scene still unfolding in front of their very eyes.

"Let's get out of here; Dave said to meet him at the mansion." Kate said, she grabbed their hands and led them away from the crowd…

XXXX

Emily felt like she couldn't breathe. Simple as that, she felt like she couldn't breathe, she pulled the car on the side and took out her cell phone dialing Derek's number quickly.

"Morgan"

"Hey, it's Emily, can you get Jack for me?"

"Sure princess." She heard Derek getting up and walking around Dave's house. She heard him calling Jack, telling him that Emily wants to talk to him, she heard the little boy running to Derek.

"Emmy? Are you okay?" his voice was uncertain, why didn't she call him earlier?

"Yes baby, I'm fine, we both are." She said answering the boy's next question before he even asked it.

"Oh good, did you tell daddy? Can I tell Henry now?" she was amazed at how easily the boy kept his voice down, respecting her wishes to talk to Aaron first.

"No, baby, I didn't tell daddy yet, but I'll make you a deal you can tell Henry, if you promise me to not tell anyone else. Alright?" she asked, she knew that Jack was nodding his head, even though she couldn't see him just by the excitement in his voice when he squealed yes.

"Good, now pass me Uncle Derek again and you can go tell Henry."

"Okay, I love you Emmy."

"Love you too baby." She heard him running to Derek giving him the phone and she could barely contain her tears. She knew that Jack loved her, but hearing it from his lips was different, so much different.

"You are good with him, you know that princess?" Derek says,

"Well he is really well behaved and adjusted."

"Don't sell yourself short Emily, you are a good mother."

"Thank you." Emily said chocking on the tears she couldn't stop.

"Princess are you alright? Are those tears I'm hearing?" he asked.

"If I tell you I'm alright I'll be lying. I miss Aaron, I miss him so much. I don't know what to do without him, I know that sounds stupid and technically isn't true, because I survived without him for years. Almost three years through our separation and then two years in long distance I did, I survived without him and I had a successful carrier as Officer Prentiss, how is it possible that the moment I start introducing myself as Emily Hotchner I feel like I can't breathe without him? And why whenever I try to say I'm agent Prentiss I can't, because I feel like I'm betraying him or something. Aaron never told me that I had to use his last name, or that I should, he never brought it up, because he knew that out marriage isn't about titles, about names or rings. Is about commitment to each other, about the little gestures, the little hugs, kisses, the breakfast in bed after a tough case… it's about all those things we did for each other. But now all I can think of is how he'll never wear his wedding band again. I just want him here with me and Jack… our family." She broke down knowing that her friend was still on the other side of the line.

"Princess, listen to me, Hotch is the strongest man I know, and although I understand your fear, he'll get through this, if anyone can survive this, it's Hotch. You worry, but so do we. We all worry about him, you're not alone your family is around you, whenever you want us. Everything will work out in the end, you'll see."

XXXX

Dave was driving to home in silence; Alex was sitting next to him, Elle, Spencer and Penelope in the back seat. They weren't in the mood for small talk, or even of serious talk, they'll have time for that as soon as they reach home.

They were about thirty minutes away from the mansion when all their cell phones collectively beeped.

He heard Penelope gasping, and hit the brakes violently "What's going on?" he asked.

"There is a riot in the prison Hotch is held in." she said, Dave felt the blood freezing in his veins, what the hell was going on. Apparently the bomb was a distraction, but the whole thing made no sense.

"Call the rest, JJ, Tara, Kate, Emily, tell them to meet us there." He turned the car to the opposite direction and ran on the lights and sirens.

In the end there wasn't a speed limit he hadn't broke.

XXXX

Emily climbed out of the SUV strapping on the Kevlar vest on her chest, something inside her was telling her that maybe she should sit this one out, maybe she should think of the unborn baby she was carrying and any other time she would. If this was any other prison she would, but Aaron was in this one. Aaron, her husband, was trapped in there with multiple psychopaths with a grudge against him.

She walked to the SWAT captain talking with few other agents.

"Hello captain, agents, what we have here?" she asked.

"Agent Prentiss!" Emily turned and saw SSA James Franklin; she smiled and walked closer to the other man.

"Agent Franklin, nice seeing you again, it's Hotchner now." She shakes his hand and smiles at his shocked face.

"I heard, I wasn't sure if it was part of the rumor mile or not."

"It wasn't, Aaron and I are married."

"Congratulations then." He leaned closer and whispered to her ear only for her to hear "Let's go and get your husband out."

"Let's."

XXXX

Hotch was trying to regulate his breathing, the shootings came closer and closer and he started going in his mind how many bullets he had and how long before they find him and plant one on his brain.

His breath though almost stopped when he heard the sound of familiar voices… so familiar.

"FBI! Where are the rest of the imamates?"

"Elle!" he said under his breath.

"Answer me!" he walked fastly to the door and waved his hand through the bars "Elle?" a smile broke in his face when he saw the brunette coming closer to his cell "Hotch! You alright, are you hurt?" JJ and Reid followed her, smiles of relieve on their faces.

"I'm fine, I made a friend, gave me this." He said showing to them the small Glock still tightly clutched in his hand. JJ smiled brighter.

"That's our boss-man!" she said, Hotch smiled wider.

"Agent Hotchner!" Hotch turned and saw Matthew coming down the corridor, he had a gash on his forehead, some blood was still rolling down his temple from it but except that he seemed alright.

"Let's get you out of here." He reached for a bunch of keys from his belt and opened Hotch's door. The older man stood on the same spot for a while, not daring to move. "Aren't you going to get in trouble for that?" he asked Matthew, last thing he needed was to get this young man in trouble.

"So be it. We need all help we can take, some of the prisoners raided the gun safe, and unlike them I know you won't try and kill us." Hotch smiled and walked slowly out of the cell, he still clutched the small gun in his hand, making a move to give it back, although he was secretly hoping he didn't have to. In the end as small as it was it was giving him a sense a familiarity and he didn't want to lose that.

"No keep it. Won't be much of a help without it." Hotch nodded and walked followed his team down the corridor.

XXXX

"We've got Hotch, I repeat Hotch is with us." Emily breather in relieve when she heard Elle's voice.

"Roger that, stay safe… all of you." She said, SSA Franklin was with her walking to her left, the SWAT team was leading the way with Dave and Alex hot on their heels, while she, Kate, Tara and Agent Franklin were following them covering their back.

"We're moving too slow." Emily said when they reached the empty hallway that connected Blocks A and B, "We have to clear and secure Blocks A, B and the control room. I say we split. Dave you and Alex take the MCRT and secure Block B, Kate, Tara and I will follow the SWAT team into Block A and the control room." Dave smirked at the tone of authority in Emily's voice; it was just as if he was hearing Aaron, even better sometimes, it was almost sweet that the two of them started mimicking each other that much.

"I agree with agent Hotchner here" Franklin said "We'll cover more ground that way. We've got the gun safe to cover too." the SWAT captain agreed although somewhat reluctantly. "Stay safe guys." Emily said, Dave nodded and turned his back walking towards the opposite direction.

"Let's get this over with." She said, Kate next to her nodded "Amen to that."

XXXX

"Alright listen up" Elle said turning to the others "Here we split. JJ you and Reid take these three and go clear Block C, Hotch, Matthew and I we'll take the rest and go clear Block D." Elle said "Everyone alright with that?" her tone made it clear that although it was typically a question she didn't meant it as such. Everyone nodded and Hotch felt a small smirk fighting to form on his face.

JJ and Reid followed the three SWAT agents down the hall, JJ only waving softly to them before turning her back to them and following Reid.

"You okay right?" Elle asked him, Hotch nodded but stayed silent.

"Hotch?"

"I'm fine don't worry, bumps and bruises." He said smiling. It was tight and didn't really resembled a real smile but Elle was going to get whatever he was offering, it wasn't as if they were in a situation that he could smile.

The seven of them walked down the hallway, on the opposite direction from when JJ and Reid went. The halls of the prison seemed endless; Hotch was trying to keep up with them, trying to ignore the burning pain on his side as he was walking fast. The doctor might have said that there weren't any broken ribs but that didn't really ease up his pain level.

The stopped in front of the heavy metal door of the D Block, he heard Matthew taking a deep breath and Elle's shoulders tensed.

"Bad?" he asked, from his position in the back he couldn't see clearly what was going on inside the Block.

"Block D is empty, we've got officers down, I repeat officers down in Block D." he heard the SWAT agent saying, so _that_ was what got them.

"We should go help the others." Hotch said, he desperately wanted to get to Emily. Something was telling him that he needed to be there. It was like back when she was kidnapped by Doyle or when Cyrus was holding her hostage in Colorado. Or when she was in the car crash, or got shot, or almost blown up in that god forsaken bank.

"We should." Elle said. She took a step back, taking a deep breath trying to clear her head.

"I think-" she didn't have time to finish, when Emily's voice was heard through intercom

"We need back up NOW! BLOCK A, I REPEAT BLOCK A WE NEED BACK UP!"

XXXX

After they have cleared Block A and made sure it was secure, the SWAT captain left Emily, Tara and Kate back to go and secure the control room. The three female agents wanted to roll their eyes, what a chauvinistic thing to do…

Emily was watching the door leading to the control room, Kate was covering the other door leading back to the corridor they came from and Tara was covering the cells.

"Dr. Lewis?" Emily felt the temperature falling by at least ten degrees in the room, she saw Tara stiffen and turning to the opposite side.

"Ennis?" she walked towards the cell, A8, where the man was held "What are you doing here?" she asked, he was one of the crazy ones, that was for sure but she didn't expect him in maximum security.

"You should know! They sent me here right after you finished _talking_ to me!" Emily almost flinched at his tone, this wasn't good, it wasn't good at all. "I don't appreciate it when my words are used against me Tara." His tone was cold, but the tiny smirk on his lips made the blood in Tara's veins to freeze just a little bit.

"Ennis I had nothing to do." He didn't let her finish before he talked again, his voice colder and stronger now, and as Tara was walking closer to the cell, and Emily could only mutter for her to not get any closer.

"Then why was I transferred here? It must have been because of what you wrote on that report about me that made me think I was like them…"

"Who's _them,_ Ennis?" Tara asked, she kept her voice steady, trying not to show any emotion, maybe only some compassion and empathy.

"Don't you know where you ladies are?" he asked, the smirk was now a full blown smile, teeth and all. "The worse of the worse."

"This is serial killer wing." Kate said. A humming sound was heard and before they could even raise their guns the door opened and Ennis… well he was walking towards it.

Emily and Kate raised their guns; Tara did the same just few seconds later when the first wave of surprise passed, (and frankly when she saw that Ennis wasn't backing down).

"We need back up NOW! BLOCK A, I REPEAT BLOCK A WE NEED BACK UP!" Emily yelled in her microphone as more and more cell doors opened and their occupants started walking out. The three of them were really cornered as the ten inmates created almost a cycle around them.

One of them made a move on Kate who shot him on the knee without a second thought.

Ennis was walking towards Tara like a man on a mission, "Back up isn't coming." Interesting that he focused so much on Tara when it was Emily who had called back up… "Don't do this Ennis; there is still a way out of this if you just go back in your cell." Kate said, she kept her voice straight, "She's right Ennis, Please." Tara said, Emily flinched internally when she heard the word, almost knew what was going to happen, but then she saw movement out of the door and took a deep breath

"Are you trying to beg your way out of this?" he asked.

"No I'm trying to save your life." Tara said softly, she made it sound like she cared, she was good at that. "She's right Ennis, look behind you." Emily said, that distracted the rest of the prisoners as well. A couple of them recovered from the shock quickly though and they made a move towards Hotch and Elle, he didn't hesitated one bit when he shot one of them on the knee and the other one the arm knocking them down. The other eight some tried to fight and ended up with similar wounds and some decided to walk back to their cells. The SWAT agents closed the doors and Matthew secured them once again.

Hotch walked straight to Emily, he took one of her hands in his and smiled softly "You okay?" he asked softly only for her to hear.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You?" she leaned a bit closer and squeezed his hand.

"Now perfect." She smiled back and him and they turned their heads to the rest of them. Kate was barely keeping back the urge to make kissing noises, while Tara and Elle _almost_ rolled their eyes.

"Let's get moving!" Elle said loudly " _Lovebirds"_ she teased walking past them.

They were just out of the block when they heard the loud noises of gunshots echoing through the walls.

"We need back up immediately, Block C; I repeat we need back up NOW!" JJ's voice pierced through their earpiece, Elle almost winched at the noise coming from her friends mouth, Hotch's jaw clenched and he took off ahead of them running towards Block C. Emily was hot on his heels running almost by his side.

They reached the Block and the saw JJ and Reid taking cover by some open cells. Hotch took a look around the scene was too confusing, there were SWAT agents, but why they were shooting at Spencer and JJ?

He didn't thought about it much before he started shooting them back. He hit one on the shoulder and Emily hit another on the collar, the two men fell back, one groaning and the other unmoving, weather it was because he was dead or because he was in too much pain Hotch found himself not really careering.

"Grenade!" Emily yelled. Everyone took cover, although Hotch's reflexes weren't as good as he thought, because before he could take cover a blinding pain ripped through his collarbone and pushed him to the ground…

 **A/N: Here is chapter 9! Sorry for the delay but like I said I had to rewrite the whole chapter from zilch, I hope you, like it!**

 **This was all about the case. The rest will be a little bit more focused on Hotch (and Emily of course) some heads might roll as well.**

 **So here is the sneak peak…**

 _He opened his eyes, trying to get up, a gasp left his lips that had Emily by his side immediately "Aaron!" she kneeled down by his side, the orange jumpsuit was staining red on his collarbone, she immediately leaned down and pressed on the red spot, she could feel the blood, her husband's blood under her fingers._

 _"_ _Em… sorry… that's not how I wanted your return home to be…" he said. His breath was already coming in short gasps, this was wrong… so, so wrong! Emily closed her eyes for a second._

 _"_ _Don't say that Aaron, just look at me, alright? Everything will be perfect. You'll see, we'll get out of this hell hole and go back home, just you, me Jack and our baby. Don't worry, just keep your eyes on me alright?" she pleaded, the tears she tried to conceal falling down her cheeks now, he made one last try to open his eyes, his hazel irises were darker now, almost black, "Baby? We're having a baby?" he asked._

 **Hey, at least it's bigger than usual sneak peeks! (Please don't shoot me :P)**


	11. Waiting

**Chapter 10: Waiting**

 **A/N: You guys are the best! Thank you all for your reviews. Here is chapter 10…**

 **Enjoy!**

 _Previously_

 _"_ _Grenade!" Emily yelled. Everyone took cover, although Hotch's reflexes weren't as good as he thought, because before he could take cover a blinding pain ripped through his collarbone and pushed him to the ground…_

Chapter 10

He opened his eyes, trying to get up, a gasp left his lips that had Emily by his side immediately "Aaron!" she kneeled down by his side, the orange jumpsuit was staining red on his collarbone, she immediately leaned down and pressed on the red spot, she could feel the blood, her husband's blood under her fingers.

"Em… sorry… that's not how I wanted your return home to be…" he said. His breath was already coming in short gasps, this was wrong… so, so wrong! Emily closed her eyes for a second.

"Don't say that Aaron, just look at me, alright? Everything will be perfect. You'll see, we'll get out of this hell hole and go back home, just you, me Jack and our baby. Don't worry, just keep your eyes on me alright?" she pleaded, the tears she tried to conceal falling down her cheeks now, he made one last try to open his eyes, his hazel irises were darker now, with pain clouding them, "Baby? We're having a baby?" he asked. Emily felt the tears rolling down her cheeks "Yes, baby, yes we are." She felt a hand on her shoulder and she tried to fight it off, "Emily it's Kate, hey, need help? What can I do?" Emily saw Kate's face over her shoulder, Elle moved forward towards the corridor, followed by Alex and a few SWAT agents. "Aaron is shot, we need paramedics here now! I need you to put pressure, I'm trying but there's too much blood. My hands aren't…" Kate saw the shaking in Emily's hands; the blood was slipping through her fingers, painting them red.

"Alright, okay on the count of three, you pull your hands and I press my jacket down on the wound." Emily nodded and moved a bit to the side to allow Kate to come closer; she took off her jacket and folding it to create a gauze, "One, two, three, now!" Emily pulled her hands away from the stained fabric and Kate pushed the light jacket hard on the collarbone, a ground left Aaron's lips, he closed his eyes tighter. "Shh, it's okay, it's okay baby." Emily took his head on her legs, combing her bloody fingers through his hair. "Can you open your eyes for me, for a little?" she said, Aaron opened his eyes a little and looked straight into her smiling face. "Best pillow ever!" he breathed out, his voice was soft, almost went unheard, she chuckled remembering the first time he told her that.

 _They were sitting in the bench across from their hotel for over an hour, the sky was clear and they could see the starts clearly. She felt his head drop on her shoulder lightly for a second or two before he straightened up again. "Hotch." She said, putting her palm on his cheek. "Aaron, you called me Aaron earlier, I like that." She smiled widely at him, his eyes were tired, he had trouble keeping them open for long, "Alright Aaron, let's get you back to the hotel, you need to sleep." Then she saw him do something that she never guessed he was capable of, he putted!_

 _"Come on, can we stay here, for a little?" she stroked his cheek softly looking straight into his eyes, something in them made her to want to kiss him, and she almost forgot that she didn't have to keep back any longer, cause she could kiss him wherever she wanted as long as they weren't in work._

 _"Sure, come on." She pulled his head down her lap, "Lie down before you collapse on the ground. I can't carry you; if you fall here, you sleep here." She said joking, he froze for a moment his eyes wide and Emily couldn't help herself she leaned and kissed him softly. A smile formed on his lips and he lay horizontally on the bench resting his head on her lap. He closed his eyes and, (swear to God!) snuggled closer to her._

 _"Hm… best pillow ever!"_

"Remember first time you told me that?" she asked him, his eyes were still closed but the smile on his lips told her that he was still with her.

"Hmm, I do. We were in Ravenswood, on the way back from the angel maker case. On that bench across the… the hotel." She saw Kate's eyes look at the two of them with curiosity; this was a side to Aaron Hotchner that she had never witnessed.

"The paramedics are on their way." Tara said she appeared from the corridor; she holstered her gun and kneeled down next to Hotch as well.

"Always the trouble maker!" Elle said when she came closer, Aaron tried to laugh, but the sound soon turned into a cough so he stopped, Emily felt the tears pooling in her eyes, they all turned to their left where footsteps were coming closer, Emily could see the paramedics coming closer and she clutched one of Aaron's hands tightly, "See, the medics are here, you're gonna be fine." He opened his eyes again a little,

"Em… love you." And she felt the grip on her hand weakening as he let go of the last grip he had in consciousness.

 **XXXX**

After finishing up at the prison, the rest followed Emily and Hotch to the hospital, Dave walked in last, waiting back to call the rest of their family.

 _"Rossi residence!"_ Dave smiled at the sound of his daughter's voice

"Hey sweetheart." He said

 _"Dad, where are you, everything alright?"_ she asked, the worry in her voice evident.

"I'm alright, cara, we are in the hospital now, Bethesda General, though because Hotch… Aaron got shot." He heard her gasp and the line went silent for a moment.

 _"Do you want me to do anything? Should I tell the rest?"_

"There isn't anything you can do darling, tell the rest but not the kids, not yet, as soon as we know something more solid I'll call back, try and not panic Jack, he went through enough already."

 _"Of course dad, don't worry, mom, Shawn and I can take care of them just fine. Be safe!"_

"You too cara, you too."

He hanged up and walked towards the fifth floor where the nurses told them to wait…

 **XXXX**

Emily hated waiting, she hated not knowing, the hospital itself was bringing back some of the worse memories of her life. Bethesda General hospital, no matter how qualified it might be still brings the worse time of her life back.

"Emily!" she turned and saw Dave walking towards her. He looked just as bad, his clothes wrinkled, dark circles under his eyes, "Dave." He sat down next to her "Where are the other?" he asked her.

"Tara and Elle went to get coffee, Kate went to wash her hands and Alex is talking with her husband, JJ and Reid said they'll go get something to eat." Her voice was drained, all the fight, and stubbornness he had witnessed few hours ago was all gone. She looked just as drained as she sounded, and that caused Dave to sit down next to her, he wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and Emily leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Did the doctors said anything about Hotch?" he asked

"No, they won't say a thing."

"Alright."

The two of the sat in silence for the next ten minutes till they saw Tara and Elle appearing from around the corner, they held four cups each, Dave noticed for the first time just how drained they looked, the whole ordeal, which yet wasn't over, was draining their energy completely.

"Here" Elle gave Emily a cup which she accepted gladly. Elle smiled softly and sat down next to her; Tara took the seat on his left and offered him a cup as well. "Drink, you look ready to collapse." She said, and any other time Dave would have joked about the pot and the kettle but right now only thing that would come out of his mouth was a soft thanks.

Spencer and JJ came back after twenty minutes, their coffee cups now discharged, they were carrying a couple of bags each, they dropped the bags on the table, everyone in the room knowing that the whole 'need to get food' was just an excuse to get out of the hospital. JJ and Spencer's red eyes were proof enough.

They took the seats on the other side of the small room silence filled the air once again. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, not at all, it was like familiarity, like coming home, it was something they knew and cherished.

Kate and Alex walked in the room last, the two women walked next to JJ and sat down without saying a word, what to say after all?

It's been three hours since they rushed Hotch to the hospital when a tall blonde woman with piercing blue eyes walked in the room. She took off her scrub cup which had birds on, making Elle flinch just a little bit, and smiled at them all, "Family for Aaron Hotchner?"

 **XXXX**

Joy parked the car outside of her father's house; she noticed the various other cars there as well and realized just how bad the situation must have been.

Shawn took Kai silently and walked out, her mother, followed path and they left her alone in the car, and she was so thankful for that, since her dad called telling her to take Kai and Shawn, call her mother and take the first flight to D.C. STAT! She felt as if she was drowning, and then the news of an explosion in the FBI academy reached her news midflight and all she could do was clutch her mother's hand and pray with her that they didn't lose any member of their family. After a few of deep breaths she walked out, holding her head straight she took the last steps up the stairs to the front door which was already open. She recognized Will LaMontagne and Mateo Cruz standing there, the first had a large smile on his face while the second was chewing on a sandwich, "Hey Will, Matt, right?" Matt smiled and winked at her, the two men stepped aside letting her in the house, "Kai already found Jack and Henry, they are out in the yard." Will said, she smiled at him, thanking him under her breath and walked farther in the house. Nothing had changed since the last time she was there, he had put up some new frames, some pictures of him with Kai and some with her mom, a new photo from Derek's wedding, but that was it. Nothing had changed making the place too familiar. She found herself sitting on her father's favorite loveseat, closing her eyes and trying to release the pent up tension from her bones and muscles. When the phone ringed she felt startled, she took the device answering

"Rossi residence!"

 _"Hey sweetheart."_ She smiled hearing her father's voice, he sounded to be alright although tired, she could handle tired.

"Dad, where are you, everything alright?"

 _"I'm alright, cara, we are in the hospital now, Bethesda General, though because Hotch… Aaron got shot."_ She let a soft gasp fall from her lips, she knew Hotch, not well enough but she knew him and she also knew that if he was shot then things weren't that good… well that wasn't new.

"Do you want me to do anything? Should I tell the rest?"

 _"There isn't anything you can do darling, tell the rest but not the kids, not yet, as soon as we know something more solid I'll call back, try and not panic Jack, he went through enough already."_

"Of course dad, don't worry, mom, Shawn and I can take care of them just fine. Be safe!"

 _"You too cara, you too."_ she hanged up the phone and walked outside to the patio, the boys were running chasing each other around laughing, they seemed so happy, and so unaware of the dramatic turn their lives had turned.

"Dad called." She saw the look on Derek's face changing, his smile dropped, Will put down his water glass and took a sharp breath, Matt followed lowering the half eaten sandwich on a napkin. Penelope who was sitting next to Derek gasped, she knew the tone, and she knew it all too well.

"Who is it?" she asked sadly.

"Hotch, he was shot. Dad said to not tell the kids, not until they know more, he's gonna call with more info later." She said softly, keeping her voice down. She heard Penelope gasping, "No, not here baby girl" Derek said and helped her up, Joy saw them walking in the house, he had his hand around her waist holding her up. She turned to the others on the table, "If you want to go, go, mom, Shawn and I can handle the kids alright." She said

"I have to go back to HQ, Bern sent me a text." Matt said, he got up and left the table, a sad smile on his face, he turned for a moment, looking at them "Call me with updates. I'll go say bye to the kids." He walked to the three kids playing and Joy turned her head back. Will looked shocked; he had paled and was looking straight ahead to the playground "Will?" Joy tried to get his attention "Will?"

"Hotch will be alright, right. He wasn't dead. He was injured. He's been injured before."

"I don't know, dad didn't tell me more, if you want to go to the hospital to be with JJ, I'll take care of the kids. You can go." He took his eyes from the kids and looked at Joy; she noticed the sorrow in them "Thank you, JJ… Hotch is like a brother to her. She… they have a bond, I don't understand at all times, but I've learned to respect it. Just like I've learned to respect her bond with Penelope and Emily… at first I was jealous of him, I thought he and JJ had something, not that she was cheating on me, I trust her I know that she wouldn't do that. I thought there was something between them that none of them ever explored. When I saw him with Emily, I realized how wrong I was. I never had a brother, Hotch became the brother I never had, he helped JJ, multiple times, he protected her and at the end of the day always made sure she came home safe. I don't think that JJ will survive losing him… I am not sure any of us will." Joy gripped his shoulder "I think you need to be with JJ now."

Will looked at her and smiled a little, "I'm gonna tell the kids I have to leave for a while."

 **XXXX**

Matt walked closer to the boys trying to keep the smiled on his face. "Hey boys, I have to back to the office, be good for Aunt Joy, Uncle Shawn and Aunt Hayden." The two boys nodded and turned back playing with Kai who was still on the tree house Dave built. "Uncle Matt." He turned and saw Jack starring at him, Henry had already climbed up the stairs and disappeared within the leaves of the tree.

"What's going on Jack?" he asked Matt kneeled down in front of the older boy.

"Does this have something to do with my dad?" Matt bit the inside of his cheek,

"Yeah, something to do."

"Is he coming home?" Jack's eyes shined, he had a big smile on his face and Matt felt like crap when he heard the question, because he knew he had to lie.

"I think… we're close to that." Jack hugged him and run up the steps as well. Matt took a deep breath and turned around walking to the front yard without looking back, he hated himself for that but what else was he supposed to do?

 **XXXX**

Will walk to the tree house, "Henry? Jack? Kai? Guys can you come down for a second?" the three young smiling faces appeared from within the leaves. "What's wrong daddy?" Henry asked, he was smiling widely and Will was almost sure that it has something to do with what Matt said to Jack before he left.

"Nothing bud, I need to go to work for a while. I'll be back soon though alright? You three be good, and I'll bring chocolate ice-cream when I'm back" the three of them nodded their heads, Jack and Kai said bye and disappeared back inside the tree house, Henry walked down the stairs and run to his arms "I love you daddy, be safe!" Will squeezed his boy and kissed his forehead softly "Don't worry bud, I'll be just fine."

 **XXXX**

"Family for Aaron Hotchner?"

"That's us!" Dave said walking up the doctor. "We're his family."

"With all due respect sir, I can only give the information on his actually related family." She said

"I'm his wife." Emily got up and walked to the blonde doctor. She smiled "Hi Mrs. Hotchner, my name Dr. Teddy Altman, I operated on your husband, Agent Hotchner lost quite a lot of blood from the GSW on the collarbone, we managed to stop the bleeding and repair the damage to the bone and the soft tissue, he was lucky on that front if the bullet entered just a few inches down, we've have a very different outcome. He crashed on the table and we've found out that he had three broken ribs, one of them was pocking his lung and it collapsed, it was a bit on the serious side so we put in a chest tube, we'll remove that in two to three days depending on how he improves. We've also did a general examination on him and found that he had an effusion on his left knee; the orthopedic surgeon will come and explain the cause of action that will need to be taken for that injury. I think overall he is a very lucky guy." The woman smiled and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Thank you. Can we see him?"

"He will be transferred to a room soon, the orthopedic surgeon wanted to check knee's mobility before she decided on a cause of action weather it will be un-invasive or surgical. I'll have one of the nurses to take you to him room as soon as we have more."

"Okay, thank you Dr. Altman." Emily said, the blonde doctor smiled and turned around leaving the eight of them alone. Emily sat down on the chair she occupied before, a relieved smile on her face now. She looked around, everyone seemed like the weight of the world had lifted off of their shoulders.

"Aaron told me that he didn't have any broken ribs." Elle said. Everyone turned to her, there was a fury in her eyes, a fury unlike any other. "What?" Emily asked.

"When we found him I saw him touching his chest often and I asked him if everything was alright. He told me that the prison doc told him it was just bruises, no broken ribs. I should have known. I'm so sorry, if I had had know I would have sent him out right away." Emily moved closer to the other woman, she was standing next to the window hugging herself tight, "Elle" Emily hugged her "You didn't know, it's okay, it's now your fault." Elle hugged her back, she buried her face on her shoulder and let few tears roll. "I need to go wash up, coming with me?" Elle nodded and the two women tuned around to the rest.

"We're going to the restroom, need to wash the blood off, come get us when Aaron is back."

 **XXXX**

Matt walked in the building looking around, everything was a hounded times different, three armed agents in each exit, multiple id checks, each in every floor and so much silence. "Chief Cruz!" he turned and watched Marvin, the security agent at the front desk "Marvin."

"Sir, Deputy Director Tolbert asked you in his office immediately." Matt nodded his thanks and walked to the elevators in the east wing, on the other side on the BAU. He got into the elevator looking on the metal doors closing, his mind raced through hundreds of scenarios. He would have loved to say that he was ready and prepared to deal with all of them but that would have been a big fat lie. He walks out when the car stopped in the fifth floor and walked towards the deputy's office.

Standing outside the dark wooden door caused him to feel like a kid going to the principal's office, and he did… as a kid he did a lot. So he knows the feeling quite well.

"Come in Matt." He turns the doorknob and walks inside to find a sight he never expected to. Tolbert was sitting on the black leather couch, a glass of Bourbon in his hand, his jacket discarded on the chair across from him, his tie on the floor next to his shoes. All layers of professionalism striped away, he wasn't Deputy Director Tolbert, no, now he was Bern.

"Hey Bern."

"Hey, suit yourself." He said nodding to the crystal bottle and the empty glass. Matt leaned forward purring a small amount of the brown liquid in the empty glass.

"What's going on?"

"You tell me first, how's Hotch?" Matt took a deep breath and looked at the glass in his hands, he hadn't touched it yet but right now he needed a sip.

"You know about the prison riot. Well it was shut down, 350 guards, 39 of them dead, 82 injured, 12 of them critical, the others only minor things. And then from the 2000 inmates, 200 died in the riot, some trying to escape others in crossfire, 1000 injured, twenty three seriously, the others nothing major. Hotch… well, he is shot, I don't know anything else yet. All I know is that he got shot during the riot and he is in Bethesda General hospital, Dave said he'll call as soon as he knows more." Bern refilled his glass and drank a generous amount in the first sip. "Your turn" Matt said

"John's dead. Starting tomorrow I'm officially the new FBI director. I think I know who did it, but I need help to prove it." Matt looked at him stunned, the director was dead?

"How… when?" he asked, he paused and looked around him, "the car bomb. It was his car." Bern nodded his head negatively.

"No, it was my car. He took it to go visit Hotch in prison, he wanted to tell him that he was sorry for what happened, for letting it happen under his nose, and tell him that he's got his back."

"What do you mean letting it happen? He signed off the counterterrorism investigation!"

"No… that was all Stafford… John had been ill the past few weeks, he had difficulty breathing, low blood pressure, fever… he visited hundreds of doctors, no one could find what he had. He took time off and separated his work load between the two of us, Stafford and me. He signed it off. Today was the first day John was back to work."

"You mean that Stafford had something to do with all of this?"

"I'm sure he did."

 **XXXX**

Emily closed the door behind them, she saw Elle walk to the mirrors and stare ahead.

"There is something, something you didn't tell the others. What is it?" Emily asked, Elle turned and chuckled.

"Your husband was shot, he just came out of surgery and you wanna know about me?"

"Well, I always wanted to know about you. Penelope, JJ, Morgan, Reid, they all love you, and Aaron… well… he always speaks really high of you. I always wanted to know you better." Elle smiled softly

"I have a son, Gideon Greenaway. I adopted him a year and half ago, his parents had died in a home invasion. He was just a baby, barely three months old. Jason helped me with the adoption process and settle in a life with an infant. We both lived in Foley Beach, a little outside of Charleston, we weren't a couple… not in the traditional aspect but he was there, he was… the adoption finalized the day of the funeral. And it was unfair! Jason was… this was a second chance for him to be a dad, to be there and he wanted it, he deserved it too. he came back to Virginia, he wanted to gather some personal things from the cabin and arrange some of his affairs… he wanted to include me and Gideon in his will, inform Stephen, when he found out about that bird killer coming back, he called me and told me that he's going to take a little longer, he needed to figure some things out and call Dave, Rossi. He never managed to call him, or come home. When the doctor came with the bird cap, she reminded me that he died… by a killer using his love as a signature. Around the same time Matt made an offer to return to the BAU, he said I was going to have my own team which will work hand by hand with Hotch's team, I confined in Jason, he told me to think about it, and if I wanted to he was going to back me up, he'd stay home take care of the baby so I wouldn't have to worry. I did, I considered it, but then Jason got shot… died. I couldn't come back. Matt made me the same offer three weeks ago and then Hotch gets arrested and shot…" a couple of tears rolled from her eyes and down her cheeks. Emily stood there in shock, she expected something was hidden under the façade the other woman put on but this was a bit much…

"I'm pregnant. A month far… I figured it out the day my husband was transferred to a federal prison and now he is shot. I told him we were gonna have a baby while he was bleeding in my hands." Elle laughed, the sound shocked Emily who looked at the other woman in question.

"I'm sorry, it's not funny, and it's not funny at all! But messed up lives we lead!" Emily followed the woman laughing, they laughed till tears rolled down their eyes. Emily walked to the other woman hugging her tightly, Elle wrapped her hands around the other woman smiling this time.

"You'll be a great mom."

 **XXXX**

Will walked in the hospital looking frantically for a nurse or a doctor, he didn't know where JJ was and he couldn't call her because his battery died and he felt like the biggest idiot in the world right about now. He noticed a nurse in the front desk getting up and run there, at least he till carried his badge, which was something.

"Hello, I'm detective LaMontagne Metro P.D. I'm looking for a patient, Aaron Hotchner, he's an FBI Agent." He tried to keep his voice steady. Mask the fear and anxiety he felt to no avail, in his opinion. The nurse looked up from her computer. "Of course, Agent Hotchner is just out of surgery, he isn't moved to a room yet, but you can go wait with the rest of his family in the fifth floor surgical waiting room." Will smiled at the nurse and walked to the elevators. He felt so much better knowing that he was alive, that their family was still intact.

The ride to the fifth floor didn't take long, in a little less than three minutes he saw the doors opening and he faced Dave standing by a window talking to the phone. he walked to the older man and waved, Dave nodded back and smiled "They're inside." He whispered and turned back to the phone call.

"Will!" JJ walked to him smiling "Hey sweetheart." He wrapped his hands around her shoulders and back and held her close to his chest. "Hotch is going to be alright." She said pulling back smiling widely. Will mirrored her smile and leaned forward, he softly touched her lips with his pulling her closer. "I love you." She said softly when they pulled apart. "I love you too sweetheart."

"Enough with the muss you two!" the couple pulled apart laughing and turned around to see Kate and Alex biting their lips.

"You two are horrible!" JJ said, a big smile plastered on her lips.

"I'm sorry, agent Hotchner is in room 543 you can visit him, one at the time please." They turned and saw one of the nurses on the door. "Could you please inform his wife, the orthopedic surgeon is looking for her."

"Of course." Dave said.

 **XXXX**

Elle and Emily walked back to the room moments after the nurse left. "Did they get Aaron to a room?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, the ortho surgeon is looking for you. He is in room 543." Dave answered smiling. Emily left a sign of relieve and smiled at the older man . "I'll go find them, see what they need me, you guys so visit him first. I'm not leaving him if I see him." She said and turned around walking to the nurses' station where Dr. Altman was sitting with a tall brunet woman in similar dark blue scrubs.

Dave turned and looked at the rest "I know we all need to see him but I don't think we should ignore the nurses in this one, we go one by one, alright?" everyone nodded "I'd like to go first if you don't mind." Elle said. Everyone else nodded and she smiled sadly.

Elle kept her head straight and walked to the room they told them Hotch was. She opened the door and walked in, the sight took her breath away. He was lying on the bed, a tube down his throat, multiple other tubes and… shit… on him. He looked like the exact opposite of the man she saw few hours ago. That man was vibrant filled with life, a little beat up, but strong and… well a fighter to the end.

She walked and pulled one of the chairs from the wall closer to the bed. She sat down and took his hand in hers. It was so surreal, the whole thing was.

"Hey, Hotch, it's Elle, I'm sorry I didn't notice… I should have known, I should have seen that you weren't okay, but you were… exactly liked I remembered, for the most part. Strong headed, stubborn, vibrant… a fighter, I ignored the signs that something wasn't right. Maybe I didn't want to believe them. I'm sorry I blamed you all those years back that you didn't have my back. it wasn't your fault… I know that… you were right about Lee too. I'm not the same woman anymore, but I guess you're not the same man anymore either. I think I'd like to meet the new you and I'd like you to meet the new me. I'd like you to meet my son too. he is turning two next month. There's something else, I want to discuss with you as well, I'm thinking of coming back to the BAU… just… get better okay…" she got up and squeezed his hand tightly one last time before she turned and left the room.

 **XXXX**

Emily walked to the doctors "Hey, Dr. Altman?"

"Hello Mrs. Hotchner, this is Dr. Torres, she's the orthopedic surgeon, I'll let you two talk."

"Hi, my name Callie, Callie Torres. Agent Hotchner had a mild effusion which we'll treat non-invasive, which means that I'll prescribe him some pills, that will help with the pain and hopefully the fluids in the joint will subside, I'll also give him some corticosteroids to help ease the inflammation which is starting, he'll also need to have some injections of steroids directly to his knee. It's a painful process, not extremely but it's still painful, he'll have to stay out of the field for at least the next two months, and that's if he responds to the medication, because if he won't we'll probably have to take surgical action, I'm hopeful that it might work but there seems to be older trauma on the knee and I can't be sure how that will affect the treatment." Emily nodded at the doctor.

"Thank you, is there anything I can do, anything I need to know?"

"Well, he needs to stay off of that leg for at least a week, no running for a month…he just has to rest and take his medication." The doctor smiled and put a comforting hand on Emily's shoulder, "Don't worry, I think he'll be okay."

 **XXXX**

Kate walked in Hotch's room second, Elle had just left and she asked the rest if they would mind if she walked in next. She saw Hotch on the bed he had a breathing tube down his throat, various other tubes coming out of him, she walked to the side of the heart monitor, watching the strong beat of his heart.

"You gave us a scare Hotch. A huge one. Don't do it again. I met your wife, she's amazing you know… we're all here, Alex, Dave, JJ, Will, Reid, Elle… we're all here for you. Just wake up and we go back to our lives. We love you." She took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Get better!"

 **XXXX**

Dave called home to inform them on how Hotch was doing.

 _"Rossi residence."_ He smiled when he heard Hayden answer the phone.

"Hey, Hotch is out of surgery, he'll be alright."

 _"Oh, thank God, everyone was extremely worried here. You have a great team of people around you David. I like them already."_ He heard the smiled on her voice and smiled as well.

"I know, they are the only family I have apart from you and Joy. They are important to me and to know that you and Joy like them, it's a great comfort."

 _"I know, well don't worry about us here we've got everything under control. I'll go inform the rest now. Stay safe."_

"You too guys."

 **XXXX**

Alex walked in the room, she as reluctant, too reluctant to do so. She knew that the view wouldn't be nice, she knew it. But then again she needed to see with her own eyes that Hotch was alright. If Reid was like a son then Hotch was like a brother. He was lying on the bed, pale and unmoving, the whole picture brought her back two years ago when she was sitting at Reid's bedside. That time she took the decision to leave the BAU, funny that this time she decided to come back…

"Hey Hotch, it's Alex, I'm back, you scared us, a lot. I lost a brother Hotch… I can't lose another, please wake up. just wake up and… just that. Get better and wake up. we all need you." She leaned down and kissed his forehead, she had no idea why she did it but she needed it.

 **XXXX**

Hayden was sitting at the kitchen table trying to chop the vegetables for dinner that Shawn was planning, she was distracted though she needed to know more about David and what was happening with Hotch, he was the one David spoke the most about but she hadn't met yet. Although if she judged by his son then she would defiantly like him. She heard the phone ring from the living room, "I'll get it!" she said and Joy returned back to the patio.

"Rossi residence."

 _"Hey, Hotch is out of surgery, he'll be alright."_ She smiled when she heard David's voice on the other side of the line. She felt a relieved breath leave her lips at the news.

"Oh, thank God, everyone was extremely worried here. You have a great team of people around you David. I like them already." She genuinely liked them a lot. They were a little crazy to be honest, but they all had hearts of gold. It was extremely rare to find people that could love so unconditionally these days.

 _"I know, they are the only family I have apart from you and Joy. They are important to me and to know that you and Joy like them, it's a great comfort."_

"I know, well don't worry about us here we've got everything under control. I'll go inform the rest now. Stay safe."

 _"You too guys."_

 **XXXX**

When Alex walked out of the room Tara said to the rest that she'll go in next. No one really said anything, they just nodded and she walked to the room. She entered looking at the injured man on the bed. He looked worse than she had ever seen him. The bruise on his cheekbone was clearly visible although she was glad to notice that the swell had gone down, a white bandage was visible under the paper gown where he was shot and his left knee was slightly elevated propped on few pillows. She took the chair and pulled it closer to the bed taking one of his hands in hers.

"I'm not going to tell you about what I regret, or how much we all miss you, or how much we need you back. I'll wait till you're awake to do so. Instead I'll tell you something that happened earlier today, Jack called me aunt Tara, and I heard Henry refer to me as aunty… I've been officially accepted into the pack! I also met Elle Greenaway, Alex Blake, Kate Callahan, of course I knew Emily, it's good to know what shoes I'm filling. They are great women… all of them. We also got Eric Rawdon, he was the one who put the bomb in the director's car. At least he was the one who planned it, we still don't know who actually put it there. We need you for that. So get better." She let his hand softly back on the sheet and left the room, she was walking slowly holding her head high, trying not to look at anything else than the end of the hallway…

 **XXXX**

Emily wanted to see Aaron but she decided that she needed to talk to Jack first, it wasn't fair to leave the boy in the dark about Aaron's condition.

 _"Morgan!"_

"Hey Derek, can you get Jack for me?"

 _"Sure princess!"_ she heard Derek push open the patio doors and calling Jack's name.

 _"Emmy?"_

"Hey Jack, I have to tell you something baby."

 _"Is daddy alright?"_ Emily closed her eyes tightly, nothing went past this boy. Even at ten he was exactly like his father.

"Baby, we… dad got a little injured… he'll be alright."

 _"Can I… can I talk to him?"_ she heard him sniffling, and her heard broke in million pieces.

"Well he is sleeping right now, but as soon as he wakes up I'll call you back and you can talk to him. I might even come and get you to see him tomorrow if he's feeling better okay?" she was met with silence on the other side of the line. "Baby?"

 _"Yeah?"_

"You okay?"

 _"Daddy isn't going to die is he?"_

"No baby, he won't, I talked to his doctors and they told me that he won't… he'll be alright. I promise you that."

 _"Alright Emmy, take care of daddy and the baby okay?"_

"Okay."

 **XXXX**

Spencer, JJ and Will decided to go in after, first was going to be Reid, then JJ and last Will. Spencer walked in, he was the only one who managed to ignore the injured man on the bed, his eyes fell to the medical chart on the base of the bed. He took it in his hands and started reading each line, it took him less than three minutes to memorize the whole file. For some reason he didn't trust the doctors in telling them the whole truth, he was please to see that at least this time dr. Altman did tell them the truth.

"You'll be alright Hotch." He finally addressed the man on the bed. "You'll be just fine, few months out of the field, maybe one in bed rest, but you'll be as good as new. And we need you like that… we need you to find who orchestrated the trap. It was an attack towards all of us. We've got your back, you know we do. Get better please!" he placed a hand on his right shoulder, the uninjured one, and stood silent for a moment, after which he turned and left the room, not looking back…

He got out of the room and nodded to JJ who was leaning on Will, she was exhausted, just like the rest of them were. She straightened her posture and walked towards the room Reid had just came from.

Opening the door she felt the breath caught in her throat. She had never seen Hotch like that… not even after he was stabbed nine times by Foyet. She felt the tears roll down her eyes but did nothing to stop them, it wasn't going to help anyway, and more tears would just roll down her cheeks.

"Hey Hotch…" she sat down on the chair and pulled it as close as she could to the bed. She took his right hand in both of hers. "I don't know if you can hear me or not. I guess you can, I was scared I was… when I saw you on the ground… blood around you, I thought you would die… Matt gave me a scare yesterday… and now you… I felt I… I felt I couldn't breathe. I can't lose you guys… any of you. So just… don't die? Please get better." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek softly, running her fingers through his hair for a moment. "Just get better."

She turned her back to the bed and walked to the door, she stood for a moment taking a deep breath and whipping her eyes from the tears before walking outside.

"I'll go see him for a moment too sweetheart and then we can drive back to Rossi's, get a change of clothes for Emily and maybe for Hotch too okay?" JJ nodded and Will kissed her forehead softly before walking towards the room.

"Hey man, I promise you I'll spare you the muss. Just… thank you for not dying. You're like the brother I never had Hotch… just get better, we miss you." Will smiled at the sleeping man on the bed. He closed his eyes and tried to pry away the picture in front of him from his mind, although he knew that this wasn't possible because as soon as he opened his eyes again the same sight greeted him again.

 **XXXX**

Jack walked towards the living room and found Penelope sitting there with Savannah, the two women had their arms tightly around each other. "Aunt Penny, Aunt Savannah, did you knew about my dad?" he asked. Penelope turned around and looked at the little boy on her right.

"Oh buddy, we learned about it. Come here." She opened her hands and was relieved when Jack walked towards them. He climbed on the couch and settled in their arms letting the warm hugs of the two women calm him down.

"Emmy said that dad's gonna be okay. Emmy never lied to me so she might be right." He said, leaning his head to Penelope's chest. "You know that bud, Emily never lied to you, I don't see her starting now."

"And I happen to know the doctors in Bethesda where your dad is and I can vouch that they are the absolute best. Your dad couldn't be in safer hands." Savannah said smiling at the boy, Jack flashed her a big smile showing off both his dimples.

"Thank you Aunt Savannah."

 **XXXX**

Rossi had let the rest of the team to go see Hotch first, he wanted to have as much time as he wanted to be there, even if he wanted only seconds. Walking in the room his brained flashed in all the other times he had seen Hotch on a hospital bed. This was without a doubt the worse he had seen him. Even after Foyet he got to the hospital when the worse was over, Aaron was awake and most of the tubes had been removed. Now though with the ventilator helping him breathe and the chest tube and everything else with the fancy names that didn't care in learning he looked at his best friend and for the first time in their lengthy friendship he was afraid he might lose him, they had come so close to… closer than any other time, all because a stupid prison doctor didn't gave him an x-ray to diagnose that he had indeed broken his ribs. 'Just bruises my ass!'

"Hey Aaron, we got you, you don't have to worry, we… we know that Slade and her son were part of the set up, alongside with Rawdon who planned the bomb in the Academy. We need to find who did it… who else was it. It's hard if you won't be there. I told you years ago that we can go on without you, I lied… we almost killed each other in the last three days we had to work without you. We need you, this team, your team needs you. So… get better." Rossi leaned down and kissed Aaron's forehead softly, if Aaron was awake he was going to push him off but right now he couldn't so Rossi took the opportunity.

 **XXXX**

Emily stood outside the room waiting for Rossi to come out, she had kicked the rest out telling them to go back home and take some rest immediately. They all thankfully complied.

She didn't have to wait long, after few minutes Rossi walked out.

"Hey kiddo." He said, Emily smiled at him and let him hug her "Hey, you need to go home, they aren't going to let us stay here with Aaron both of us, go home." Dave nodded and kissed her cheek before untangling himself from the hug they shared.

"Take good care of him, both of them." He said putting his hand on her flat stomach.

"How did you?"

"I just do."

 **XXXX**

She walked in the room last. Aaron's eyes were still closed and according to the doctor he wasn't going to wake till the morning, they had him in strong anesthesia, trying to have him sleep peacefully tonight and not step back his recovery. She sat down on the hard plastic chair that so many others from the team occupied before her and took his hand in hers.

She didn't spoke to him, she sat there in silence rubbing circles on the back of his hand, partially trying to relax herself as well as soothe him.

Her eyes were heavy and she tried to keep them open as hard as she could but in the end failed. Laying her head on the bed over his hand she let her eyes close and sleep took her over…

 **A/N: That's it chapter 10 is done! We're really close to the end, but now I have a dilemma… should I write a sequel or not? I already have the story planned in my head, would anyone be interested in reading it?**

 _Sneak Peak!_

 _He started getting feeling back on his hands, legs, torso, the itchy sheets, the light blanket covering him and a weight on his hand. He didn't need to open his eyes to know what the weight was. He knew it was Emily probably sleeping with her head on his hand. that didn't worry him, what did thought was the fact that there was something blocking his airway, there was something, a tube and it was gagging him, his eyes flew open and he used his left hand to pull it out._

 _"_ _Aaron, Aaron! Hey calm down, baby calm down."_


	12. Sleeper

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks soo much for your reviews! I have decided to write a sequel to this, so the ending is close, but it won't be the end. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter; I had to re write it a couple of times because I wasn't satisfied with it.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine!**

 _Previously_

 _She didn't spoke to him, she sat there in silence rubbing circles on the back of his hand, partially trying to relax herself as well as soothe him._

 _Her eyes were heavy and she tried to keep them open as hard as she could but in the end failed. Laying her head on the bed over his hand she let her eyes close and sleep took her over…_

Chapter 11

He started getting feeling back on his hands, legs, torso, the itchy sheets, the light blanket covering him and a weight on his hand. He didn't need to open his eyes to know what the weight was. He knew it was Emily probably sleeping with her head on his hand. that didn't worry him, what did thought was the fact that there was something blocking his airway, there was something, a tube and it was gagging him, his eyes flew open and he used his right hand to pull it out.

"Aaron, Aaron! Hey calm down, baby calm down." He felt her hands on his face, and he turned his eyes to land on her face, she was looking straight into his, her face calm and collected.

"The tube is helping you breathe, you had a collapsed lung, just relax and try to breathe normally, and I'll call the doctor alright? Blink once for no twice for yes." He blinked twice and saw the smile on her lips that was probably all he needed to relax…

XXXX

Emily woke when she felt Aaron moved beneath her. She opened her eyes seeing him trying to pull off the breathing tube from his throat, he was thrashing, and trying to pull the tube violently, Emily put her hands on his face, cupping his cheeks softly

"Aaron, Aaron! Hey calm down, baby calm down." She said, trying to keep her voice steady, and her face collected, he didn't need to know that she was more or less crumbling down, fear was paralyzing her and her breath was having trouble coming out.

"The tube is helping you breathe, you had a collapsed lung, just relax and try to breathe normally, and I'll call the doctor alright? Blink once for no and twice for yes." She saw him blinking twice and a smile forced its way to her lips, the hold of his hand on the tube relaxed dropping it back on the bed as softly as he could not wanting to cause any more pain to himself.

She looked at him closing his eyes and trying to breathe slower, she was impressed that he had managed to calm down so fast. "I'm going to call the doctor, I'll be back in a second." She kissed his forehead and left his hand softly on the bed, turning around to the door she walked to the corridor and grabbed the first nurse she could see. "My husband woke up can you call Dr. Altman? His name is Aaron Hotchner." Emily walked back in the room in less than a minute after she left, Aaron had his eyes closed but she could tell he was awake, his right hand was twitching something that over the years she came to recognize as a sign of nervousness.

"Hey I'm back" she walked to his side and sat down at the chair again, which she had moved so he could see her better. Emily smiled at Aaron and took his hand in both of hers. "The doctor will be here in a while. How's the pain out of five? Show me fingers." She looked down at the hand she was holding, to see him holding three fingers up. "Alright, we'll tell the doc to give you something for that." She saw him showing the tube with his right hand and making a sign asking _what_. "You had three broken ribs, they caused your lung to collapse, hence the breathing tube and the chest tube." She gently touched his side few inches below from where the chest tube was "Dr. Altman said you'll be okay, they fixed most of the damage and hopefully the chest tube will be gone in two to three days. they also fixed the damage from the bullet hole, it broke your collarbone, the doctor can explain better, and your knee… well you have to stay off of the field for at least two months, stay in bed for a week, no running for a month, I'm afraid that you'll lose this year's triathlon." She noticed the right side of his lips curl upwards slightly.

Dr. Altman walked in the room about ten minutes later, "Agent Hotchner good to finally see your eyes." She said smiling, she walked to her patient and stopped by his bed. "I get that you want the tube removed but I need to check if you are able to breathe normally on less oxygen, so I'll try lowering the amount of oxygen we're providing and see if your lungs can keep up. alright?" he blinked twice and the doctor smiled. "Good, I'll be back in a few hours and we can talk about removing it then, now how is the pain, from one to five." Aaron raised three fingers again and Emily could see the doctor winching, "Ouch, let's get something for that then." She smiled again and turned to leave the room. Emily looked at her leaving smiling and turned to Aaron to find the same amusement in his eyes, although mixed in with the pain he was feeling.

"I like that one." She said, she leaned forward and kissed his forehead softly, "I know you want to stay awake but you need rest more, so go back to sleep I'll be right here when you wake up."

XXXX

Matt walked into his car, he unlocked it and stepped in, everything around him was spinning, he wasn't drunk, after the couple sips he had in Bern's office he didn't drank anything but he felt everything spinning around him, his life was unraveling, bit by freaking bit. Turning the key in the ignition he started the engine and drove out of the parking garage, it's morning, he vaguely remembers that it was night when he walked in the building.

He wanted to get as far away as he could from Quantico, and drive to Dulles International in less than an hour, Katie had taken an early flight from L.A. to D.C. called him to come get her from the airport, not that he was going to let her drive on her own…

Driving to the airport, everything that Bern had told him were turning around in his head, was it possible? Was it possible for the deputy director of the FBI to want to kill them… he could easily fire them and never have to see them again. Destroy their carriers, their lives and reputations. It wasn't as if they could do the same job, the job that they adored in any other federal agency. No other agency had a behavior analysis unit. And all in all, why the heck did they bothered him? What did they do? They were just doing their jobs, and no one from the Unit would ever want to take his job. It was a senseless act of revenge which was making no sense at all.

He parked his car outside the airport and walked out taking a deep breath, he heard a loud noise and looked up, a United plane was landing right about now, he smiled, and he made it on time after all… He walked in the building looking too out of place, with his dark suit, wrinkled white shirt, no flowers or cards, or bags for the matter. He looked like he didn't really belong in an airport but rather in his bed, and then he saw her, it wasn't long since he walked in, maybe fifteen minutes, or twenty, he didn't knew he forgot his watch at Dave's after all. She was dragging her brown back behind her, her shoulder length hair help back in a messy ponytail, her eyes tired, black circles beneath them visible, or maybe that was just him, knowing her that well that he knew that she was too tiered not to have them.

"Matt." He wrapped his arms around her tightly holding her to his chest feeling her breath on his neck and her hands holding his waist. "I missed you." She whispered on his skin and he felt as if it was embedded there.

"I missed you too Katie." He pulled back from her arms and cupped her face "So much." He leaned and kissed her lips, he missed her so much, everything seemed to be so much more difficult when he was going home alone, when all the terrors and troubles he faced couldn't share with anyone. He tried to remember why or maybe when he became that dependent, he couldn't, but it couldn't have been long. he remembers that when he was married he couldn't confine in his wife, she didn't want the burden and he didn't want to load it on her. So why was it so easy to become dependent to talking to Katie? He probably would never know.

"Let's go home Matt. You look ready to collapse." She said smiling, she pulled herself from the hug they were still sharing and took his hand. That's how the left the terminal, holding hands.

XXXX

He heard his phone ringing but he made no move to pick it up, he was content in the bed, it was warm in there, Hayden was sleeping next to him peacefully, he liked the scent of her shampoo filling the air around him, he didn't want to leave that state of bliss. "David. Your phone." she turned in his arms and pushed him lightly. That caused Dave to groan, he really didn't want to get up from the bed. "David it might be Emily." That made the difference, Emily, Emily calling meant that there was a change with Hotch, Aaron, who was lying on a hospital bed, after going through hell in the last seventy two hours. He got up from the bed and grabbed the phone from the nightstand, answering without seeing who was calling.

"Rossi."

 _"_ _Dave, it's Matt, I talked to Bern and there is a lead on who might have done it, who might have wanted Hotch out of the picture. We need to look into it, all of us."_ Dave blinked a couple of times that was defiantly not what he was expecting.

"Alright, we need to look into it, but first priority is Hotch, as soon as he is better we will investigate it." His voice held a finality and Matt wasn't about to question it, he did agree with him after all.

 _"_ _I agree, first priority is Hotch."_

"Good, now get some sleep we have a long day ahead of us."

 _"_ _You too Dave."_ The call disconnected and Dave place the phone back on the nightstand "What was it David?"

"We night have a lead on who was targeting Hotch." He said looking straight ahead, all the new info, as few as they were, were spinning around his head, he tried to compartmentalize, in no avail.

The simple line from Matt, so generic gave him a headache.

"You can talk to me David, whatever it is." She placed a soft hand on his forearm and he closed his eyes leaning closer to her, "I know… I know cara, I just don't know what's exactly going on yet."

XXXX

Aaron was sleeping peacefully on the bed, Emily just sat there watching him, knowing that he was alright, that he was just sleeping and not slipping into a coma was a relieve, of course her whole fear was completely unrealistic but she couldn't stop it. The fear was griping her heat like a vice. Looking at her watch in her wrist she saw that it's been three hours since Aaron woke up. She took her phone and walked to the door of the room searching her contacts she found Dave's name and pressed dial.

" _Rossi."_ Dave sounded as if he was just woken up.

"Dave, it's Emily, Aaron woke up, and the doctor lowered the oxygen supply to see if his lungs can keep up, he'll probably be out of the ventilator by tonight." The sign of relieve from the other side was clearly audible.

 _"_ _That's amazing, I'll tell the kids, Jack's been worried a lot since you told him Aaron was injured."_

"I know… have him call me as soon as he wakes up alright?"

 _"_ _Sure bella, I'll do that."_

"Thank you Dave. A lot."

XXXX

Matt opened the door to his apartment letting Katie pass him by, she dropped her jacket on the back of the black leather couch and dropped down on it. "Now tell me what's going on with Hotch?" He placed her bag by the door and dragged his feet to the couch sitting down next to her. "Well Hotch's been cleared of all charges, it's gonna be official today. Seaton is suspended pending an investigation of his conduct and John is… he is dead."

"The director is dead?" he turned and saw her blue eyes widen to the revelation "Starting today Bern is the new director of the FBI." Matt leaned back on the couch, resting his head on a pillow and closing his eyes. Everything was still spinning, he thought that since the nausea left him while he was driving he wouldn't have the same problem.

"Any clues who might have orchestrated?" she asked, his eyes flew open and he raised his head looking at her eyes.

"We're not sure but we do have a theory. It all started last November when Hotch arrested the NSA director. He came in contact Stafford, yes I am talking about our deputy director, they contacted Rawdon and he told them how they could use Hotch, make it look like he wanted to blow up the building. They were going to have someone, we haven't identified the individual yet, to put the bomb in the backup generators of the building and the gasoline would… well just destroy building." Katie guided his head on her shoulder, and Matt complied closing his eyes and breathing in her scent.

"They would have started a war."

"Yeah… they would."

XXXX

Two hours passed way too fast and Emily was glad for that. Aaron had been sleeping quite peacefully in the last two hours; she was monitoring his heart beatings, the slow rise and fall of his chest. Everything she could to calm herself, to reassure her brain that he was alright, he was healthy, he wasn't going to be ripped away from her hands any time soon. Dr. Altman walked in the room silently looking at her patient on the bed, "Has he woken up since my last visit?" she asked quietly,

"No, he's sleeping, he had a few nightmares but he didn't wake up."

"Poor guy, he is probably exhausted." The doctor mentioned, she looked down at the sleeping man with a small font smile on her lips. "He reminds me of my husband a bit." Emily smiled at the doctor. "Sadly we have to wake him up now. I need to make sure that he can breathe alright with less oxygen. Emily smiled at the doctor. "I can wake him if you want. He might react better." Dr. Altman chuckled, "Please do." She took a step back while Emily got up from her chair and leaned forward towards the sleeping man on the bed.

"Aaron." She whispered in his ear. Her fingers laced themselves through his hair, he really needed a shower, he'll probably be mortified when he sees himself on the mirror. His eyes opened slowly, hazy with sleep, he blinked a couple of times and looked straight to her he smiled slightly, the best he could with the breathing tube still going down his throat. Emily smiled back at him, with the biggest smile she could.

"Doc's here." His hazel eyes, hazy and glossy from sleep turned to the doctor standing at his bedside, she was smiling softly, "Hello sleeper." She said, he nodded slightly to her, "Well, I'm going to disconnect the ventilator, I won't take out the tube, just in case, try to breathe normally, alright?" Hotch blinked twice that had Teddy smiling at him; he looked so much like her husband when he woke up it was hilarious.

"Alright sleeper, let's go." She turned to the ventilator and Emily saw her messing with some buttons, the noise started reducing and slowly stopped. Both women stayed frozen for a couple of minutes waiting for the small rise and fall of his chest. Emily felt the world on her shoulders waiting for those few seconds before Aaron took a breath, the raising of his chest was probably the most reassuring sight in her life.

"Good job sleeper, just keep it up, try getting some more sleep, I'll be back in an hour… with food if you're good." She smiled and turned to leave, she walked to the door and stopped turning back looking at the couple, her patient was still breathing steadily in and out, his wife was holding his hand tightly, leaning towards him she whispered something in his ear, and ran her fingers through his hair. She smiled at them one last time and turned leaving the room, she needed to get some sleep.

XXXX

Emily nodded smiling at the doctor and turned her attention to the man on the bed. She grasped his hand tightly and leaned down to kiss his temple, "I love you, you know that? I love you more than I ever thought I could." She whispered to his ear.

She felt his index finger tapping her upper hand and she turned down watching him, he slowly traced his finger on her hand tracing softly the three words that could always make her heart jump just a little bit, the words she knew he wanted to tell her but couldn't " _I love you"_ she raised her head again and looked at him in the eyes, "I love you too baby, now go back to sleep. I'll see you in an hour." She leaned down and kissed him temple again.

Aaron closed his eyes, and soon fell asleep again, Emily kept a tight hold on his hand but leaned back on her chair, she thought about everything that happened in the last three days, her whole world turned upside down, _their_ whole world turned upside down. Her left hand went to her flat stomach, and she thought that maybe… just maybe it wasn't that bad after all.

XXXX

Dave stood in the kitchen watching his family in the dining room, Jack, Henry and Kai eating their cereal, smiling and laughing at something Shawn had said, Will looking fondly at them, JJ leaning to Michael whipping his lips, his small perfect family. He felt a feeling of fullness and happiness overcomes him, this was something he wanted but never thought he'll get. After three failed marriages and a dead son he never thought that there would be a time in his life that he was going to have a house full of people.

A huge house, three stories high, and enough rooms to house almost all the members of the BAU, past and present, when he got it 20 rooms, most of them with their own en-suit seemed at a huge and unnecessary extravagance but now… well now he couldn't help but think that maybe he did a good thing.

He looked at the clock on the wall and wondered whether or not Emily and Hotch were awake by now. He could see through Jack's façade that he was worried about his father and wanted to talk to him. He was startled when his phone ringed, he walked to the kitchen table and picked it up,

"Rossi"

 _"_ _Hey Dave it's Emily…"_ she stopped for a moment, a coarse voice interrupted her, _"And Hotch!"_ he smiled listening his friend's voice, it's been too long since the last time he did " _For god's sake stop it. You had a tube down your throat. You want to talk to Dave tell me and I'll give you the phone."_ he smiled widely when he heard Emily scolding his friend. " _Come on Em, it's not that bad."_ His friend started complaining but a cough interrupted him. " _See I was right!"_

"Guys not to interrupt you but is there something you'd like from little old me?" he asked, amusement obvious in his voice.

" _Well, Aaron would like to talk to Jack, is he up?"_ Emily asked, Dave started walking to the dining area, where everyone was sitting, "Wait a sec." he said to the phone, covering the mouth piece he called Jack, the boy raised his head "Yeah Uncle Dave?" he asked, Dave smiled at the boy, "Well your dad is on the phone!" Jack's eyes widened and he dropped the spoon in his bowl; he jumped from his chair and run to Dave. "Here bud." Dave passed the phone to Jack who took it fastly.

"Daddy?" he asked anxiously…

XXXX

Around an hour later the doctor walked in the room again, "Hello again. How's sleepyhead?" she asked, Emily had an amusing smile on her lips. This doctor was surely fun. "He's good, breathing normally, sleeping like a baby since you left." Dr. Altman nodded happily, "Good he needs sleep, good sleep. You should wake him up again, but I'll need you to leave the room afterwards, you don't want to witness that." Emily nodded, she bit her lip softly, "With all due respect doctor, I came home and found my husband's blood on the carpet, found him in a hospital with nine stab wounds on his chest and abdomen, I saw him in much worse condition, I want to stay." A look of sympathy crossed her face momentarily, "Alright, you can stay, but it's not gonna be pretty."

"I know. Trust me I do. I want to be here." The doctor nodded, "Alright, wake him" Emily moved closer to Aaron again, leaning to his ear whispering to him, he opened his eyes, looking around, trying to focus, Emily place her hands on his cheeks, she turned his head softly and his eyes focused on her.

"Hey, doc's back." Aaron closed his eyes slowly, opened them back and turned to look at the doctor.

"Hey sleeper, I'm back, since you've breathing on your own for an hour without a hitch, I'm gonna take the tube out so we can finally hear your voice, kay?" Aaron blinked twice, "Like you'd say no." she said, a small sarcastic comment which made Emily smile widely.

She walked outside and called a nurse, who appeared back in the room quickly. "Okay sleeper, lets lean your head back" she said, Emily saw Aaron trying to roll his eyes, apparently he wasn't that approving of the nickname, the doctor slowly removed the tape holding the tube in place, "Alright, when I tell you I want you to cough, don't try to breath in, just cough it out." Aaron blinked twice and drew in a deep breath. She gripped the tube softly and looked at the nurse and then Emily, Emily saw her look it was like telling her that she still had time to leave if she needed, but Emily just tightened the hold she had on Aaron's hand. "Okay sleeper, cough, now!" the doctor pulled the tube out and Aaron coughed, to Emily though it sounded as if he was trying to cough out his lungs or something.

Still it wasn't as bad as some of the other things that she had seen. Aaron took a deep breath and opened his mouth, a sound came out, something that resembled her name, but the nurse stopped him "Oh, no, no handsome, have some water first." She placed a cup on his lips, slowly tipping it, Emily watched him as he drank the water he was being offered, "There you go." She took the cup and placed a mask on his mouth and nose, "That's a good boy." She said smiling, a groan left Aaron's lips that had all the three women in the room laughing, apparently he didn't like that nickname anymore than the last one "He's not that big on nicknames. He's too used being called Hotch, or sir to appreciate them." Emily joked.

"Em." He groaned, "Seriously?" his voice coarse, still even though he drank some water, the nurse smiled and left the room, "You'll get used to it handsome." Emily laughed at the shock on Aaron's face he always felt shocked almost uncomfortable when he had people calling him things like _that._

"Okay, what's pain level agent, still at three?" Altman asked, the smile on her face only caused Aaron's frown to deepen. "It's a two" he whispered, the doctor seemed pleased, "Good. The meds are working, I'll leave you two alone, try not to overdo it, or I swear I will cuff you to the bed." The doctor left the room, "I don't like her" Aaron whispered,

"Yeah, how about we call someone you like? Jack wants to talk to you." A smile crossed his lips and for the first time in days. She pulled out her phone and dialed Dave's number.

 _"_ _Rossi"_ he answered

"Hey Dave it's Emily…" she said, before she had a chance to continue Aaron pulled down the mask and yelled "And Hotch!" she threw her hands in the air

"For god's sake stop it. You had a tube down your throat. You want to talk to Dave tell me and I'll give you the phone." he pushed the mask back in place for a little while, a smile on his lips.

"Come on Em, it's not that bad." He tried to protest but a strong cough interrupted him

"See I was right!" Emily said, she hated telling him _I told you so_ but this was one of the moments that he utterly deserved it.

 _"_ _Guys not to interrupt you but is there something you'd like from little old me?"_ Rossi said, the amusement was clear in his voice.

"Well, Aaron would like to talk to Jack, is he up?"

 _"_ _Wait a sec."_ Emily passed the phone to Aaron who pulled the pressed the phone to his ear with his right hand.

 _"_ _Daddy?"_ Emily saw his eyes fill up, the anxious voice of his son on the other side of the line, brought him to his limits.

"Hey buddy, it's me." He said, Emily realized that he kept his sentences short so he wouldn't break on the phone with Jack.

 _"_ _Daddy! You are alright?"_

"Yeah buddy, I'm okay, a little hurt, but, I'll be home soon, probably in week, and we're gonna spent a lot of time together." He said, Emily saw him taking deep breaths trying to calm his, probably, raging anxiety and fears.

 _"_ _Good, Emmy said that you guys won't go to work before talking to me, and Aunt Penny said that if Henry and I aren't comfortable with you all working for the FBI you'd quit, but I talked with Henry, we don't want you to. Not for us."_ Aaron closed his eyes tight, some tears escaping; Emily saw them but chose to ignore them altogether.

"Thank you for that buddy, we can talk about it better when I'm home, okay, you're old enough now to have a say in what's going on in our house." Emily bit her lip, understanding what Jack had said that probably had made Aaron so upset, she expected that to be something that Jack would bring up.

 _"_ _I love you daddy, you know that, right?"_ the boy asked, a smile formed on Aaron's lips.

"I know, I love you too buddy."

XXXX

The first day passed fast, Aaron was wheeled for one test after the other, Emily barely had time to see him, much less talk to him, she did talked to Jack again though, the boy was restless wanted to see his father immediately and Emily didn't have the heart to say no to him, father and son spent way too many nights without saying goodnight to each other, that's how she ended watching the two most important guys in her life sleeping peacefully.

 _"_ _Emmy when is daddy coming back, the doctor said it won't be long." Jack came to the hospital just five minutes after Aaron was taken for another MRI, and he didn't have the chance to see him, although Dr. Altman happened to be there and saw a distraught boy and told him that it wouldn't be long before Hotch was back._

 _"_ _It hasn't been that long, don't worry an MRI takes about thirty minutes and it's only been twenty, he'll be back quite soon." True to her word around ten minutes later Aaron was wheeled back to the room, "Daddy!" Jack ran to his father and hugged him as tightly as he could. Aaron smiled and wrapped his good right arm around his son. "I'm sorry I scared you buddy." Aaron whispered to Jack. "It's okay dad, did you get the bad guys?" he asked, at ten Emily was almost sure, as well as Aaron, that all signs of child-like innocence would have left the boy, but it seemed as if he still believed, well wanted to believe that his father was always getting the bad guys._

 _"_ _We did, most of them." Jack smiled widely, "Then all's good right?" Aaron's smile froze for a second, he wanted to lie and tell him that everything was perfect and nothing was wrong, but he couldn't, because above everything he had promised that he was never going to lie to his son. "I hope so son, I do, I don't know for sure, but…me and the team will try to make them." With that Jack gave his father a shrug, and told him that he needed to go and lie down to rest, causing both the nurse and Emily to burst out laughing._

"You're watching us." She turned and came face to face with Aaron's eyes; he was smiling while tugging Jack closer to him. "I could feel your eyes on me." He kept his voice down trying not to disturb Jack sleeping peacefully.

"I'm sorry, go back to sleep." He shrugged and turned to look at her "You told me something, before, is it true? Are we… you really…?" Emily smiled at the nervous demeanor Aaron was having.

"It's true; we are going to have a baby." A look of pure happiness crossed his face and she couldn't help but smile as well. "I thought I was hallucinating, I… how far along?" he asked, she saw the tears fill up his eyes again although she knew that this time there wasn't anything sad about them.

"A month." She said with a knowing smile.

"Aaa, the welcome home in the police station!" a mischievous smile appeared on his face and Emily had no doubt that he probably was remembering every detail about her _welcome home_ in the NYPD station.

"You better get your mind out of the gutter Hotchner!"

"Yes ma'am!"

 **A/N: Here is chapter 11! Hope you liked it, please let me know what you are thinking I'd love to hear what you are thinking.**

 _Sneak Peak_

 _The week passed fast, although Aaron was in strict bed-rest for the whole week, he was grumpy and really wanted to go back home as soon as possible. Dr. Altman walked in the room and found him sitting on the bed fully dressed_

 _"_ _What are you gonna sneak out of here?" she asked smiling_

 _"_ _If you don't let me."_


	13. The Next Day

**A/N: Here is chapter 12, I'm sorry it took me a bit longer to finish it, but my exams have started. Anyway this is the last chapter (only an epilogue is coming up) I hope you'll like it, and as always let me know if you do.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own them… sadly…**

 _Previously_

 _"_ _Aaa, the welcome home in the police station!" a mischievous smile appeared on his face and Emily had no doubt that he probably was remembering every detail about her welcome home in the NYPD station._

 _"_ _You better get your mind out of the gutter Hotchner!"_

 _"_ _Yes ma'am!"_

Chapter 12

The week passed fast, although Aaron was in strict bed-rest for the whole week, he was grumpy and really wanted to go back home as soon as possible. Dr. Altman walked in the room and found him sitting on the bed fully dressed

"What are you gonna sneak out of here?" she asked smiling

"If you don't let me." He answered, he was pulling his jacket on slowly not wanting to disturb his stitches, last thing he needed was to be forced to stay in this god damned hospital any longer.

"Where's your wife?" the doctor moved closer to Hotch and held his jacket helping him put it on.

"She went to sign some papers so I'll get the heck out of here."

"Wow, you really hate hospitals." She said, a bright smile crossed her face. "Ok, ok stop glaring" she said looking at the soft glare Hotch was giving her "A piece of advice, you aren't the first federal agent I've dealt with, you'll go home today, and you'll stop taking your medication because you think you don't need them and because you feel invincible, you'll miss your painkillers and ditch the cane, you'll ignore mine and Dr. Torres' advices on staying on bed rest and in result you'll make yourself worse. I've seen it; you have a wife and a son, and if I am correct a baby on the way." She saw the shock on Hotch's face, "I am correct, well, you need to follow what I and Dr. Torres told you to a t. you need your painkillers, pain management is just as important at healing, you'll use your cane, try not put too much pressure on your knee, you let your body heal in its own time. You are 51 years old, you are not some 20 years old boy that gets hurt one day and the next goes back to running marathons, you need time, don't make it worse, because as entertaining as watching you groan, and roll your eyes is I don't want to see you back here. Alright sleeper?" Hotch rolled his eyes "If you stop calling me sleeper." A smile creased her lips, "Sure, why not. Get better" she said shaking his hand. Hotch watched her leaving the room shaking his head, this hospital visit was so different, an experience on its own.

"Hey," he turned to see Emily standing on the doorstep, "Hey." He said, Emily walked to his side and sat down on the bed, "See you found your go bag." She said, a hand run down his back, over the soft cotton of his shirt.

"Yeah, can we go home?" he asks, leaning towards her.

"Sure, but just so you know Pen has set up a welcome home party." Hotch groaned again causing Emily to laugh "Why are you laughing?"

"In all the years I know you nearly ten, I've never had you for the type that groans and rolls his eyes, but here you are proving me wrong Scarlett O'Hara."

"Well look at this room! I thought I could get away from the party!" Emily looked around, Pen had once again overdone herself, and the room was filled with balloons and flowers all over and of course a giant teddy bear. Emily had to admit that she loved it, he was four feet tall, with fluffy dark fur, he wore a white shirt, a red tie and a fake FBI ID card. "Well you have to admit that Bear Hotch is cute!" Emily raised the bear from the chair Penelope had left him and carried him to Hotch "There you can carry him." Hotch glared at her "Take that thing from me." Emily laughed at his face "Just be glad she didn't get you the six feet tall one."

 _"Oh. My. God. Penelope!" Emily saw her friend walking towards her, she was carried five or six Tupperware containers filled with different foods she made for Hotch, on her right hand, she had around twelve balloons tied around her left wrist and a huge bouquet of sunflowers on her left hand. Derek was walking behind her, his head hung low as he was carrying a huge teddy bear. "Is he for Aaron?" Emily asked showing the black bear, "Yeah, he's Bear Hotch! I wanted to buy the six feet tall one but I couldn't carry him. So I bought him, I bought him his shirt and tie and made him a fake FBI ID card."_

 _"I told her Hotch will hate this thing but she wouldn't listen to me!" Derek said, he was struggling to carry the bear and was really tempted to just drop it on the floor and drag it by the tie. "He won't! Boss man will love him! I mean look at him, he is Hotch in bear form!" Emily smiled at her friend's over-excitement. "Oh Pen, he will hate it, he hates all forms of attention." Penelope's face fell "He almost died, he better accept all forms of attention and accept them gracefully."_

 _"He will."_

"Six feet?" he looked terrified and Emily had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at him. "Yeah, she wanted to get you a six feet tall version of Bear Hotch."

"That's not his name!" Emily shrugged "Look at his ID it says that his name is Bear Hotch" she follows his eyes while they land on the bear and smiled while the realization hits him "She won't let me give it to the kids will she?"

 **XXXX**

Matt, Will, Anderson and Dave were sitting on the couch in Hotch's living room watching Spencer and Derek bicker outside the kitchen over who got them kicked out. Savannah comes out of the room to see the two of them still fighting "Seriously guys? You both got yourselves kicked out of the kitchen, and if you don't leave Penelope will come after you with a kitchen knife!"

A car was heard parking outside and Dave got up from the couch, "Guys I think Aaron and Emily are here!" Jack peaked from his room "Are they here?" he asks

"Yeah" Spencer answers. The boy smiles and comes out of his room, Henry and Kai following him.

They all stood waiting on the door, listening to Aaron and Emily talk _(bicker)_ on the other side of it

"Surprise!" they all yelled as soon as Emily and Hotch entered the room.

"Hey guys" Emily said happily, Hotch was smiling while still holding the teddy bear in his hand "Hey." He tried to sneak out of the party, maybe hide in his bedroom for as long as he can but he felt a pair of arms around him stopping him. Looking to his right he sees Penelope's head on his shoulders, he turns and properly wraps his arms around the younger woman remembering the panic and tears in her eyes when she first visited him in the hospital.

 _Hotch had just awoken, his whole body hurt, the painkillers started to wear off and the full gravity of his situation started to hit him. He heard the team before Emily opened the door and let them in, he heard their voices, they were talking about something but couldn't hear what. And then he saw them, Emily opened the door, Penelope was the first who walked in, at first sight there was nothing different with her than normally, she wore a bright orange and blue dress, high blue heels, a big orange flower on the left side of her head and blue glasses, when he noticed her eyes though he saw the huge difference, her eyes were red and, swollen and glassy filled with tears. Tears she didn't shed. She walked slowly to his side and stood next to his bed, he saw her running her eyes up and down, checking him again and again, trying to figure out if he was alright._

 _"Penelope?" her eyes focused on his, he could see the tears ready to fall, he could see her fear and worry, he had seen it before if he was being honest. "I'm alright." He says, a smile crosses her lips and her hand grips his right hand tightly. "Wild Horses sir, wild horses!"_

"Penelope." The sound of her name made Garcia to take a step back and look at him "Are you alright?" she asks with her voice steady but soft.

"Wild horses Penelope. Wild horses remember?"

 **XXXX**

They ate, drank and joked all together sitting in the living room of Hotch and Emily's apartment, Aaron kept looking at the door, the events of the last two weeks kept replaying in his head again and again, was there something, anything he could have done to have avoided everything that happened? That was the question that tormented him.

"Did you found who was involved in the frame up?" he asked, everyone in the room stopped talking, the kids had long ago went to bed, he knew that they couldn't have heard him, he didn't want that, but he was also tired of the rest of them tiptoeing around him on the subject.

"We aren't sure on who exactly is in on it." Matt said, "You heard about John." Hotch nodded, he had heard about the death of the director by his friend Bern, the matter was still too fresh in his mind. "Well we do know that Stafford contacted Cochran sometime before his arrest. And there is suspicion that they contacted each other after his arrest as well. We haven't found out who was the one who physically put the bomb there, but we have found out that, either Stafford or Cochran had contacted Rawdon who gave them the idea of building a bomb and framing you." Matt finished and looked down, Hotch had noticed that his boss didn't look at him during the whole time once, something was eating him, and that wasn't the profiler in him talking but rather the friend.

"Matt, you're hiding something from me." Matt shut his eyes and turned his head towards the window. "John was killed in Bern's car. The bomb was meant to kill Bern and not John. John was sick in the last few months, the matter stayed strictly 'in house' meaning that none of the Section Chiefs knew a thing; the only ones who knew were the two deputies. Bern and Stafford, the investigation on you, it was signed by Stafford." Hotch drew a sharp breath in, he knew that Roger Stafford never liked him, and the feelings were frankly mutual, but he always believed that out of sheer devotion to the BAU and only he wouldn't face any problems from him. The actual realization that the man down the hall, the man who he had shared a desk in the old BAU bullpen in that cramped god awful bunker they used to occupy was out to kill his best friend and wanted him gone from the FBI so badly that he was willing to sent him in jail for the rest of his life and destroy his life completely was defiantly a punch in the gut.

"What… what actions have been… you know." He still had difficulty comprehending everything Matt had told him.

"So far, nothing, so far only Seaton is suspended and pending an investigation on his actions but we can't move any further. Right now, you and the rest of your team is in stand down, Bern's orders to take some time off. As soon as you guys are back at work… we'll see." Matt said

"Yeah on that…" JJ started, Matt looked at her, his eyes pleading, he knew what she was about to say, that probably they didn't want to come back, or maybe that she wouldn't come back, he saw his nightmare coming to life in front of him.

"Jen." Her name a plea that fell from his lips. "We need to talk with Jack and Henry, personally I'm not willing to do a job that makes my child uncomfortable, and you know as well as the rest of us that if Hotch doesn't come back, the rest of us won't be back either."

"No, JJ, no. what I'll do shouldn't affect you guys." Hotch protested, he knew that his team would follow him to hell and back, but he didn't want that. JJ, Reid, Dave, Tara and Penelope were the best agents (and technical analyst) he had met.

"Frankly Hotch, I don't think that this team can operate without you. A couple of days we had to work a case without you and we almost tear each other apart. We were at each other's throats. Dave snapped right and left, JJ was ready to rip Dave's head from his shoulders with her bare hands, Spencer wasn't able to concentrate on one thing for more than few minutes at best, Dave pulled a gun on Matt and started a shouting match with Anderson, we all thought Anderson was conspiring behind our backs with Matt when both were only trying to help us, hell none of us was able to even make a ten and a seven year old to talk to us. Our section chief was on the verge of exhaustion and we only figured it out when he literally collapsed in front of us. I think that none of us, you included, ever understood just how dependent we became on specific dynamics between the team." Tara stopped; she looked around her, all the different reactions to her outburst. She knew she said just what the rest had been thinking since the whole mess had started, but the revelations had defiantly stunned Hotch who hadn't heard or had known just how tense everyone was. "It's your team, members might come and go but you are the leader of the team. You are consistently there; since you took the job you only left your post for less than six months, six months in eleven years. Things in the team, people come and go, but the one thing that never changed is that you are the boss. This team… we can't work under another Unit Chief, it won't be right, something will be lacking, and whoever that person is we'll always compare him or her to you and no matter how good they are they'll always lack in something. They'll never be good enough. Any way any of us can work in the FBI if you're not there is if we are the leaders, if we are the bosses and defiantly not in the BAU… because if we stay there, even as the boss, we'll always consider ourselves as seat holders never truly embarking the role of the boss never really evolving and moving on, always stuck in a bubble. So JJ is right, if you aren't coming back, I don't see anyone else coming back either." Hotch bit his lip, he knew that his team was loyal but he never saw himself as irreplaceable, he knew he knew that to the government and the bureau was expendable and one day he will be replaced with the younger and improved "model". To realize that to his team he was irreplaceable was as powerful as a punch in the gut. Although he had to admit it was one of the best feeling punches he had ever received.

"I told you man, on the flight back from Milwaukee, you had told me at the beginning of the case that we'll get a new Unit Chief and he might not be such a drill sergeant. Remember what I had told you? I told you that we might not want a new unit chief because we already had one. Apparently you didn't hear me then, so I'll tell you again, we don't want or need a new unit chief because we already have one and he's a pretty damn great one. And yes he is a drill sergeant sometimes and a bit of a pain but that doesn't make him and less great at what he does. Because we are a family and no matter what we stand by each other and love each other with everything, all their traits good and bad. We don't want someone who is less of a drill sergeant; we don't want someone new, or old. We want you, drill sergeant extraordinaire and SSA Hard Ass. We don't want or need a new Unit chief because we already have one and he's a pretty damn good one too. Did that went through you thick scull or do I have to say it again?" Hotch nodded no closed his eyes, he took a couple of deep breaths, "Message clear" he said smiling slightly at them. Derek nodded pleased and leaned back on the couch taking a sip from his bear, Emily laced her fingers in his and leaned pressing a soft kiss on his cheek, he turned his head and kissed her lips, the small smile stuck on his lips although the tears were building up in his eyes, everyone had noticed but chose not to mention them, to his great relieve.

"Anyway I'll probably be coming back anyway, maybe not right away, I'll defiantly need a couple of months to make sure my knee is alright, last thing I need is to get back in the hospital and have another surgery. Have enough scars already don't really need anymore." He said, Emily smiled, the shocked faces of the rest of the team at the realization that Aaron was joking was defiantly priceless.

"Did you just make a joke?" Katie asked shocked, "Matt he made a joke, Hotch frankly I had no idea you could." He rolled his eyes at his old teammate "Yeah it better stay inside the room, I have an image to uphold in the bureau." Everyone started laughing at the stern face Hotch put on, his mask not great though since he slipped and joined them soon after.

"Jokes aside cocoa butter does wonders with scarring." Kate said, she got up and walked to her bag, left on the desk next to the door. She took a small jar "Here, apply it after cleaning the wound. Trust me, wonders." Hotch took the jar from her hands, his left eyebrow raising "Thanks" he said, leaving it on the table in front of him. Kate placed a hand on his good shoulder "Can't have you find any more reasons to stay hidden behind those damn suits of yours." She said smiling widely

"What?" he asked, his voice rising, Emily sitting next to him was biting her lips trying not to burst out laughing "I'll choose not to comment on that."

 **XXXX**

It was a little after ten when the team had left with promises that they'll be back soon to see how he was doing, Aaron, although he hated all the attention and the fussing, he smiled and (as he had promised Emily) thanked them and told them to come back anytime. Frankly, as much as he loved them and missed them, he was glad they had left, he had missed the solitude, the privacy of being in his own house behind closed doors, and he wasn't going to deny it but having Emily there was a great bonus as well.

"Aaron do you need any help?" he looked up and stared at his reflection on the mirror. He looked much better now than he did when he came home, after taking a shower and shaving he started to look like his normal self again, he really thanked the gods that he was able to use his right hand as well because otherwise showering, washing his hair and shaving would have been a really awkward moment.

"All set." He said walking out of the bathroom, Emily was sitting on the bed, she already had changed wearing his old FBI Academy t-shirt, it was long enough that almost reached her knees, moments like this always struck him just how small she really was. Used seeing her in heels, walking in the room and owning it, always in control, always strong and able to protect herself he often forgot that she was 5'8'' and 127 pounds and not 6'2'' and 175 pounds like him. Realizing just how smaller she is and still how she carried herself as if she was bigger than him always took his breath away.

"What are you staring?" she asked, he realized that she had gotten up from the bed and had walked just a couple of feet away from him. "I missed you." He closed the distance between them, cupping her face and leaning his head towards her, he touched his forehead to hers, felling her soft skin on his. "I missed you too." she whispered, he had closed his eyes just breathing in the soft scent of vanilla that always follows her skin when he felt her lips on his cheek, at first and then his lips. He missed kissing her; he missed feeling her close to him, holding her. It was insane how much he missed her.

"Don't leave me." He whispered it was a moment of weakness, something that he'll only admit in the dead of the night and never again, they both knew that as soon as the sun rises next morning his admission of weakness will be gone too. Not because he won't feel it or anything else simply because they both had to wear their masks in the light of the day and act the way they need to. They couldn't be weak in the light of day, not when they had probably the weight of the world hanging from their shoulders.

"I'm not going anywhere." She whispered, her answer was soft, audible only to him, an admission of need only for his ears although they were the only ones in the room.

He gave her another short kiss on the lips and they both pulled apart.

"Ready for bed?" she asked.

"Yeah, let's go." He hugged her shoulders closer and walked slowly to the bed with her glad that the day was finally over.

 **XXXX**

Aaron woke up to the sound of the phone, he fought to ignore it and go back to sleep but couldn't, years and years in the BAU almost programmed him to not be able to ignore a phone call.

"Prentiss." He heard Emily whispering from the other side of the room and he opened his eyes, she was standing by the window few steps away from the bed, she was whispering to the phone and Aaron didn't really have the ability to understand what she was saying just yet.

"Fine, thanks Clyde." She hanged up the phone and turned to see him awake trying to sit on the bed and failing miserable

"Sorry to wake you." Emily walked to the bed and sat down pulling Aaron gently to her side and stopping him from trying to get up and therefore injuring himself any further. "Clyde called my stuff will be here from London in about three to four days." she said smiling. Aaron had buried his face on her shoulder but smiled hearing the happiness in her voice, "Good. You know we need to set up the nursery right?" he said, Emily bit her lip nervously, remembering a talk she had with Jack a couple of nights ago. "Yeah about that… maybe we should get a new place, probably a home, one with yard. It'll be good with the baby and Jack will have more space to run and play." He looked at her curiously, if he was being honest he had thought about getting a house, before he had even known about the baby but he wasn't sure she would like that, her admission that she does want a house, with the yard and all had him worrying about what really might be going on.

"Em, you know I'd love that, but I thought you liked living in a condo, what changed?" she diverted her eyes for a while looking around at their bedroom.

"Look, I told you something back, after Foyet's attack" she saw him ready to say something and placed her index finger on his lips silencing him "Listen please, I talked with Jack couple nights ago and he told me that he didn't feel safe coming back here, although the door was replaced and the alarm was working and everything. People tent to associate places, sounds, smells with unpleasant events that happen to them. It happened to you after Foyet, you couldn't sleep in your old apartment remember? We had to move into mine, and then when you moved back you suffered from insomnia. Happened to Jack as well, he didn't knew why but he became claustrophobic although he doesn't remember the details about how his mom died he still remembers the small space he was when he heard the loud bangs from downstairs. It's the same here, he steps in the living room and he immediately flashes back to seeing his dad on his knees and on gunpoint, by the people he was supposed to trust. Because that's what we all taught him, to trust the authorities, this time it wasn't a bad guy that threatened you, it was the people that were supposed to help you, protect you, your people in a sense. Didn't you find it weird that the whole time we've been here with the team he only stayed in the living room for less than fifteen minutes and then he went back to his room?" she looked at him and saw the wheels in his brain turning, she knew he had noticed the signs, not only in Jack if he was being honest, because he himself had shown those signs as well. Those weren't signs any father wanted to see in their child.

"I know, maybe we should start looking." He knew that she was going to ask him if he had the same signs, flashbacks, he knew. He closed his eyes and buried his head on her shoulder.

"What about you?" she ask, she knows what he'll say; he'll say he's fine although he clearly is not. "Don't you dare tell me you're fine Aaron, if you were you wouldn't have been looking at the front door that much."

He signed and raised his head looking straight into her eyes, it was a fight of wills, the first to look away would lose, they always did that, always trying to sneak away from confrontation, it tore them apart before, when Foyet was after him, or Doyle was after her. They wouldn't talk to each other and almost lost each other, Emily wasn't willing to do it again.

Aaron looked down and closed his eyes, his good hand rose to his face rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I'm dealing, not fine, defiantly not but I'm dealing Em. Isn't that good enough?" Emily recognized his defensive tone immediately

"It's more than good enough baby. It's great, but you don't have to deal with it alone." She places her hand on his chin raising his head, looking straight into his eyes, "I am here." He closed his eyes again but this time he leaned closer to her.

"I know."

 **XXXX**

Matt walked into his office, everything was the same, just like it was when he left it last time, the blankets still dropped on the couch, the purple fluffy robe Penelope had bought him (or snuggie as she had called it) on the floor where it was dropped, his chair pushed back touching the bookcase from when JJ pushed it to get him away from the desk, his tie still on the chair in front of the desk where he had ditched it. His jacket still dropped over the back of the same chair. Most things where the same, of course there were the dust and the shattered glass from the explosion, he was glad that they had at least fixed the window. Not that he would mind the fresh air filling the room, it still held the same suffocating atmosphere it had the last day he was there.

"Wow this place is a mess!" he turned and watched Elle standing at the door, "Yeah, it is." The smile on her face dropped when he heard his voice, she felt that something was bothering him and could suspect what that was as well.

"You ok?" she asked walking inside. Matt looked around the room, trying to avoid her eyes at all costs, he freaking hated profilers. "Take a seat." He said showing the chairs in front of his desk, he walked to his own chair pulling it closer to the desk, he sat down straighten his spine trying to sit as straight as he could.

"Have you considered my offer?" he asked, trying to divert the conversation elsewhere.

"Oh no, no mister you can't pull that trick on me! I lived in the same house as Jason Gideon those tricks don't work on me. Spill what's bothering you?" she asked, Matt took a deep breath looking at her with a small half smile on his lips.

"You got me. Well I've been getting pressure from above to either get the BAU Alpha back immediately or move on with the formation of the second Alpha team as soon as possible."

"So you need my answer immediately." Matt nodded, a sad look on his face, "I do, I know I told you that you can take as much time as you want but the DOJ is pressing on the matter, I don't think that even the director can stop them. They want the BAU back in business and they want it now." Elle nodded at him, "I understand, but I need to talk to Hotch first. Can you give me a day?"

"You have twelve hours, I'm sorry."

 **XXXX**

Emily's head was spinning, she wanted to get Aaron to open up to her, she knew that it wasn't easy and apparently it lead to an explosion worse than she had guessed.

 _"I see the door and I'm waiting for it to burst open." He told her, she looked at him; his eyes were starring at the closed door of their bedroom "I can't look at it. It's not as bad as it was with Foyet but it's bad, it's the same."_

 _"It's P.T.S.D. its normal Aaron, it happens, you aren't invincible. What you went through in your own home was traumatizing. Maybe talking to someone isn't bad." She said a small smile on his lips appeared "I am talking to someone" he says with the smile apparent on his voice too._

 _"I'm not talking about me Aaron, I can't help you with everything, I can hear and offer advice but that's all." His face hardened and she could see his jaw clenching._

 _"I don't need a psychiatrist." He said forcibly._

 _"Psychologist and you might do, Aaron it's not just what happened this time, you didn't talk to anyone after what happened with Foyet or Peter Lewis either, all those are bottling up!" he got up from the bed limping to the window._

 _"You didn't talk to anyone after Doyle either." He said with his voice cold._

 _"Yeah, and look how well that served me. It took me years to deal with the fact that I lost my baby, I almost lost my husband and I had to run to the other side of the ocean to outrun my issues." He had his back on her, looking out the window; she could see though that his head was lowered. "Aaron, we both went through some tough shit in the last years and if that's gonna make you feel better we can both talk to a doctor. Hell Jack probably needs to talk to someone too." he turned around looking at her, Emily still sitting on the bed, she couldn't remember the last time she had seen him that angry, or closed off, or both._

 _"It's none of your business." He says, his voice lower than before, Emily froze on her spot on the bed._

 _"What? It's none of my business? Why because I'm not his mother? Trust me I know that! That doesn't make me love him any less or care about him any less. I can't believe you just said that." Emily kept her voice low with difficulty, their old habit at screaming at each other was bubbling under the surface for both; she could see the veins popping on Aaron's forehead. "What am I doing here then Aaron? Why am I here if the wellbeing of my family is none of my business, what is my business here? Please enlighten me!" he stayed silent on his spot by the window, not looking at her. "Emily." Her name left his lips softly._

 _"No don't…" Emily got up from the bed and walked to the closet. "I'm going to change and go for a walk, you think about it." She took a pair of pants and a t-shirt and walked to the bathroom leaving Aaron alone in the bedroom._

"What is bothering you my dear?" Emily turned her head sharply and looked at an elderly woman standing in front of her. Her white hair were pulled back from her face in a tight bun in the base of her head, her hazel eyes filled with concern.

"Excuse me?" the woman smiled widely at the younger woman. "Something must be bothering you. Can I sit?" she asks showing the seat next to her on the bench she was sitting for the last half an hour.

"Please do." The woman sat down and looked at her, the smile still on her lips "Man problems dear?" Emily chuckled at that

"Husband problems actually."

"Aha, well aren't they problems all the time." She said. Emily laughed at the woman's comment.

"Yeah well my husband does cause quite a few." She said sarcastically.

"He sounds like my second husband, my Mike. Married twenty years, he drives me crazy at least twice a day each day." A small laugh left her lips. "How long are you married?" Emily played with her rings, "Well typically, it's been a little over seven years. Technically we've been together for three and a half, we've had some problems."

"What couple doesn't? The actual question is the today's problem is it bad enough for you to be hiding out here and not being at home and trying to work it out with your husband? Has he done something that bad that you can't forgive him?" Emily sat there silent wondering what was it that bothered her that much, she knew that when Aaron was angry or even confronted with things that he didn't want to hear he tended to lash out and say things he doesn't mean, or even want to say. It had happened in the past and they had brushed it off, what was that different this time?

"He has a son from his first marriage, he is ten, and I've known him since he was two and a half. He hit it off right away, ever since the first time he laid eyes on me I was Emmy, six years ago his mother, my husband's ex wife died, I never wanted to replace her, never tried either. That doesn't mean that I would love that boy any more if he was biologically mine." Emily stopped and took a deep breath.

"We had a fight today, I told him that maybe we should talk to a doctor, all of us, because in the last years we've been through a lot, but his answer was that it is _none of my business_. I know that most likely he didn't mean it, my husband; he has a habit of saying things he doesn't mean when he is angry or even comforted with things he doesn't want to. We both do actually; we'll get mad and scream things at each other that we'll regret in an hour. I don't know why it bothered me that much this time to be honest."

"Maybe because he insinuated that you weren't a good mother?" Emily turned to the older woman looking at her with shock overcoming her face.

"Excuse me?"

"You are pregnant"

"How?" the woman smile and pointed at her stomach, "We've been here for almost an hour and you haven't taken you hand from your stomach. So as I was saying you are pregnant, his words hurt more because you two are going to have a child _together_ this time, it hurts that he doesn't trust you with the well being of his son, although you always treated him like your own." Emily opened her mouth but closed it right away, the woman's words were twirling in her mind, she had to admit that she was right, "I guess you are right." Emily whispered.

"Well in that case I think you need to go home and figure out if your husband meant what he said or not. And if he is as thickhead as mine, he'll probably need some time to see that he was wrong as well, so how about we let him stew for a while and go to the café across the street? Their muffins are to die for." Emily smiled at the woman and accepted her offer, she left home that hastily that she didn't even had time to grab something to eat.

She got up taking the older woman's hand "Emily."

"Patty"

 **XXXX**

"Where is Emmy?" Aaron turned and saw Jack standing on the doorstep. He placed the cup of coffee on the counter and closed his eyes "You two fought?"

"What?" Aaron looked at Jack, the boy walked in the kitchen taking his cereal from one cupboard and a bowl from the other placing them on the table, "Emmy isn't here, you are, she left without coming to wake me so you two probably fought." Aaron was shocked; they had tried to keep their voices low. Aaron limped to the table and sat down next to his son "We had an argument and Emily went for a walk. You need help with that?" Aaron asked watching Jack take the milk out of the fridge and purring some in his bowl "Nah, I'm good dad; I'm not a baby anymore." The boy sat across from Aaron who was staring at him in shock, his baby was growing and indeed he wasn't a baby anymore.

"You need to apologize to her." Jack was looking at him over his spoon, Aaron's shock and bafflement was growing by each passing moment "What?"

"When Emmy comes back you need to apologize, I don't want her to go away again, so you have to do whatever it takes so she and the baby stay here."

"You know about…"

"Sure, sooner than you." Jack gave him a half smile Aaron tried but couldn't manage to stop the smile on his face.

"I will. Emily and I were talking about moving out of here, maybe to a house with a yard. What do you think?" Jack left the spoon back in the bowl and looked at his father, "Sure, that sounds good." Aaron looked at his son throwing stolen glances on the door. "Is there anything else you want to tell me? You know I am here." A short look of uncertainty crossed the boy's eyes and Aaron wished he didn't saw it.

"I think I want to see Dr. Cooper again." Aaron nodded remembering what Emily had told him not so long ago. Dr. Cooper was the psychologist Jack was seeing after Haley's death and although he hadn't been in his office for years now, over four, the two of them had kept in touch. "I can call him and set up an appointment." Aaron said, his guilt was growing, especially when he saw the smile on Jack's face.

"Thanks, now call Emmy and apologize, before she changes her mind and buys a plane ticket to god knows where." The boy got up from the chair picking up his empty bowl and spoon placing them in the sink and putting away his cereal and the milk before he disappeared from the kitchen leaving his father back and star struck.

 **XXXX**

"Speak of the devil!" Emily said mentioning the phone in her bag while turning away from Patty she took it out and saw at Aaron's picture and name appeared on the screen, "Well answer him!" Emily smiled and picked up the phone "Prentiss."

 _"Em, it's Aaron, I'm sorry… you were right, where are you?"_

"Out, I told you I would go for a walk." Emily saw Patty giving her the thumbs up from the bench across the table.

 _"Are you coming home?"_

"Later, yeah."

 _"Jack woke up and was looking for you. I get that you are angry at me and you have every right to be, what I told you was wrong and I didn't mean it."_

"Then why say it. Why say it at all?"

 _"I don't know, I seriously don't know. All I do know is that you are right when you said that we all need to talk to a professional and you were right that just talking to each other isn't enough. I… I talked to Jack and asked him about moving out of the condo and to a house and he said yes. He also told me that he wanted to see Dr. Cooper again and I set up an appointment for him. I did all I could think of but that's all I can do alone. Please I need you to come home."_ Emily heard the pleading in his voice and the lines on her forehead smoothed over.

"I'm at 2100 S Washington Boulevard on a café with a friend; I'll be back home in an hour. We'll talk then." She head a sign of relieve from the other side, he was trying to suppress it without success.

 _"Alright, I love you."_ Emily smiled to his words; she knew that they had put the last fight somewhat behind them, not completely but they were clearly working towards it.

"I love you too." Emily said before she hanged up the phone.

"So? I heard some declarations." Emily smiled at the expression on the older woman's face, she had a big smile on her face and her right eyebrow rose.

"He apologized, told me that he didn't mean it and he did follow my advises on Jack, before asking me to come home and telling me he loves me." Emily face mirrored the triumphant expression on Patty's face.

"See darling I told you he is the same as my husband, you both took some time and thought things over and he called and apologized."

"Yeah, I don't even know why he fights with me I'm always right after all." The two women busted out laughing after Emily's comment, for the younger woman this was a sobering moment, this was the feeling that a girl should have while talking with her mother.

"Well it was great talking to you, but right now I have to go to my son's, that boy always gets in trouble. He got hurt again and didn't call me!" Emily's eyebrows rose, "Wow, that sounds like my husband, he gets in trouble a lot and never calls his mother either, once I had to call her myself, I spoke to her husband, it's funny, we're married seven years and I never once met his mom." Patty chuckled "What a coincidence, my boy is married here and a few years and I never met his wife either. What are the chances in that?" the smile fell from Emily's face slowly "One in a million. I'm sorry but what is your son's name?"

 **XXXX**

Aaron was sitting in his office looking on line for homes around the area, so far he had found a couple he did like a lot, most of them though were out of Arlington, a couple in Dale City and one in Southbridge, he had to admit that the close proximity to work was very tempting.

He heard Emily's key's on the door and slowly got up from the desk walking to the door, she walked in, a paper bag with groceries in her hands.

"Em." He said smiling.

"Hey baby, we've got visitors." She said, Aaron's smile froze on his face and slowly fell from his lips.

"Mom!"

 _"Oh, it's Aaron." Patty had a smile on her face which fell when she saw the color draining from Emily's face._

 _"Oh, his last name?" Emily asked, she kept saying to herself to keep it together, something that she had admitted wasn't easy to do._

 _"Hotchner. He's an FBI agent. Dear are you alright?" Patty put her hand on Emily's arm, the younger woman raised her head and looked straight into the hazel eyes of the older woman, how could she have missed it? She had the same eyes as Aaron, and the longer she observed the woman the most she looked like Aaron, they had the same eyes and the same cheekbones._

 _"Well I'm Emily; I'm your son's wife._ "

"Mom!" Aaron looked at the two women shocked, he felt as if the earth left from beneath his legs. "What are you doing here?" he limped slowly over to her, hugging her as close as he could.

"Well I finally met your wife which you've been hiding out from me for seven years! I found out I'm going to be a grandma again and I learned that you've been acting like a jerk." Aaron turned to Emily who was biting her lip trying not to laugh at the sight of her bad-ass FBI husband getting scolded by his mother. "The friend?" he asked, Emily nodded finally giving in and laughing at him.

"Well in my defense I didn't know she is your mom till it was too late. But by the way I like her." Emily leaned forward and kissed his cheek turning around and walking to Jack's room. Aaron turned back and looked at his mother who was still standing with her hands on her waist.

"I'm in for an ear bashing?" Aaron asked, trying to fake his best innocent look.

"Oh yeah and a real big one!"

 **XXXX**

"Hey baby." Emily walked in the room to see Jack sitting on his desk, he had a couple of his books around him and his pencils were scattered around them.

"Emmy!" he jumped from the chair and almost run to her hugging her round the waist. "I thought you were going to go back in London, because dad did something stupid." Emily laughed, kneeling down to reach his eye level.

"I told you I am not leaving, no matter how stupid your father acts from times to times. I went for a walk and then I got someone you missed a lot over." The boy in front of her looked puzzled at her.

"Who?" he asked.

"Well grandma Patty is here!" she said, the boy's face broke into a huge smile and he moved away from her arms, "Is she here?" he asked,

"Yeah, she's in the living room." She said, the boy's face lightened and he turned around running out of the room and into the living room.

"Grandma!" he ran to the older woman and the boy wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Oh my little baby isn't a baby anymore! You're almost as tall as your father now!" the older woman led the boy in the couch and sat down making small talk with him, Emily walked behind Aaron and wrapped her arms around his waist, "You already ditched the cane I see." She whispered on his shoulder.

"Only slightly, I still use it from the bedroom to the living room or office, but I thought I could do without it till here." He said turning around. Emily's mind flashed back to last night when they stood in the exact same position just a few feet away from where they were standing right now.

"We need to talk, and now I think it's the right time." She said taking his right hand in hers.

"You are right; Mom, Emily and I will be in the bedroom for a while, if you need anything just call." Aaron said, his mother dismissed him with a sign and he clutched Emily's hand tighter while trying to walk to the bedroom the best he could without groaning out in pain.

 **XXXX**

Elle walked in the bullpen for the first time after the bomb went off, the windows were all replaced although the cleaning crew hadn't cleaned the room yet, she walked in the room feeling the glass shatter under her feet. When she left she promised herself she never will come back that she'll stay as far away as possible from this place and never look back. And she did, for a long time she did, she had built a life away from Quantico, away from the FBI, away from the BAU, right now though she couldn't imagine leaving them again. If Jason was here he would say that it was part of their winning personality, she on the other hand, things it's just part of being a family.

She walked up the catwalk to the office Jason used to occupy, Dave had changed a lot, the walls were now in a darker color, the desk was on the opposite side of the room than it used to be and was also tidier, much, much tidier. She turned to leave when a picture on the bookcase grabbed her attention. It was Jason and Dave, they were much younger standing in front of a car Dave was wearing a three piece suit, perfectly ironed, not a hair out of place while Jason was standing next to him in his baggy pants, and light brown jacket he still owned, a dark brown sweater and a red shirt. The two of them couldn't look any more different if they tried.

"It's taken in 1978, we were driving home from a case, I think in North Carolina, we were hungry and stopped at a roadside bed and breakfast. I had just bought my first camera; cost me more than my own house. It was a Konica C35, the owner offered to take out picture." Elle turned and saw Dave leaning on the doorstep.

"I'm sorry to intrude I just…" Dave walked in the room smiling softly. He walked to the woman and placed his hands on her shoulder softly.

"I know, Jason had sent me a letter, I only got it after his…" Dave closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, the subject even after a year and a half was still not something he felt at ease discussing. "You know. If he only had called, we might have had a beer, anyway he told me about you and about a baby you were going to adopt. If it's possible, I'd like to meet him." She saw the tears in his eyes, Elle had no idea what Jason had written on the letter for his friend, she knew though that he never stopped thinking about them.

"Sure, I'd love that. His name was at first Oliver, but after what happened I changed it." Elle reached for her phone from her pocket "Here, Gideon David Greenaway. Jason wanted him to have both our last names but the adoption came through a week after his death, so I thought that I could change his name, after all it was the agreement, I chose first name he'll chose middle name." she looked up and saw a couple of tears falling freely from Dave's eyes. "This is the second time he named a kid of his after me." He said softly. "Stephen?" Elle asked puzzled "My name is David Stephen Rossi. His full name was Jason James Gideon, my wife Caroline and his wife Marge were pregnant at the same time so we agreed, he'll give to his kid my middle name and I'll give my kid his middle name. So we did… so we did." Elle smiled and put the phone back in her pocket, "Sweet story, you know he wanted you to be his godfather. I want that too."

"I'd be honored kiddo." Dave leaned forward and hugged her closely.

"Good, if you don't have something better would you like to meet him?"

 **XXXX**

"I'm sorry for everything." Aaron had apologized for the third or fourth time, Emily wasn't sure, "Aaron again, it's ok. I told you that. It's okay, we're okay, next time you are mad though don't take it out on me and my insecurities. We're profilers, we both know how to hurt each other the most because we can tell the others insecurities and fears. It took me a long time to get where I am, a long time and every time we fight and you say something like that I fall right back to the place I was when I first came back after Doyle. I can't afford to do so." Aaron nodded and walked to her side, he wrapped his arms around her the best he could without whelping out in pain, he had to admit that ditching the painkillers this morning was defiantly not a good idea.

Emily heard his labored breathing and took a step back, "Did you took your painkillers?" she asked him, Aaron saw the look on her face and swallowed with difficulty, "Not yet, pain wasn't that bad before, I will now though." She rolled her eyes helping him to the bed "Don't move an inch!" she warned him and he nodded, he still hadn't lost his mind to move.

Emily returned not long ago to find him a already asleep on the bed over the blankets, he had turned to his side and was hugging Bear Hotch who was sitting previously on her side on the bed. She smiled at the picture in front of her, she left the pills on his bedside table, kissed his cheek and left the room, but not before taking a couple of picture for future references (BLACKMAIL!)

 **A/N: I can't believe that this story is coming to an end. I loved every minute I spent writing it, the sequel will be coming sometime in mid July after I finish with my exams. Please let me know what you are thinking!**

 _Sneak Peak…_

 _Hotch woke up feeling the sun on his face, there was a weight on his hand and he smiled remembering that he wasn't sleeping alone anymore. He opened his eyes watching Emily sleep next to him peacefully. It was amazing how things changed since he was released from the hospital. His mother left after a couple of days, not before giving him a huge ear bash for his behavior and making him promise that he will call her more often that twice a year or so. His name was cleared and Matt told him that he is welcomed to return to the BAU wherever he saw fit._


	14. Epilogue

**Chapter 13: Epilogue**

 **A/N: This is the last chapter of this story, I am getting emotional that this story has come to an end. I'd like to thank all of you who took time to read, review, favorite and followed this story. You are all the reason I kept writing and didn't give up. This chapter is for all of you, I hope you'll enjoy it please let me know what you think.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Although I'd love to own CM I don't…**

 _Previously_

 _Emily returned not long ago to find him already asleep on the bed over the blankets, he had turned to his side and was hugging Bear Hotch who was sitting previously on her side on the bed. She smiled at the picture in front of her, she left the pills on his bedside table, kissed his cheek and left the room, but not before taking a couple of picture for future references (BLACKMAIL!)_

Chapter 13

Hotch woke up feeling the sun on his face, there was a weight on his hand and he smiled remembering that he wasn't sleeping alone anymore. He opened his eyes watching Emily sleep next to him peacefully. It was amazing how things changed since he was released from the hospital. His mother left after a couple of days, not before giving him a huge ear bash for his behavior and making him promise that he will call her more often that twice a year or so. His name was cleared and Matt told him that he is welcomed to return to the BAU wherever he saw fit. He felt Emily stir next to him and he smiled when he saw her open her eyes.

"Hey, you're watching me again!"She said with a smile on her face.

"Sorry couldn't help it. I missed waking up with you so much" she smiled and snuffled closer to him. "I missed it too."

The pair sat in silence for a while just enjoying the company. He was content with that, he really was, he missed the hectic paces of the BAU but that didn't mean that he couldn't appreciate the slower pace.

"Oh I think we'll have visitors soon." She said smiling a bit wider. They heard Jack's steps on the hallway outside their room and the knock on the door.

"Come in!" Emily said and the door cracked open, he sneaked his head inside and smiled "Are you up? I'm hungry!" Aaron laughed and got up from the bed

"Right away!" he said smiling. "Get up sweetheart the master is hungry!" Emily laughed and got up following her men in the kitchen. It was a good life… nothing could change it.

 **XXXX**

Waking up with her son sleeping next to her was one of the best things she had felt; the little boy was sleeping peacefully, his little thumb in his mouth. It's been around a week since she had told Dave about him and the man embraced fully the title of fairy godfather had showered the boy with gifts. Of course Garcia wasn't that far behind, or JJ, or Spencer, or Derek or… well pretty much everyone.

Everyone had met Gideon on separate occasions, Hotch and Emily met him when she went to visit them and talk to Hotch about the offer Matt had made to her…

 _Elle was standing in front of the door with Gideon in her arms, the little boy was awake looking around him in amassment, he always liked exploring new things and this was a building he'd never visited. She ringed the bell and waited staring at the dark wooden door in front of her. Emily opened the door with a smile on her face, she could hear voices from the living room, one of which she could identify as Hotch and the other as Jack._

 _"_ _Elle!" Emily said with an even bigger smile on her face. "Is that Gideon?" she asked looking at the boy in Elle's arms who suddenly had turned extremely shy and turned his head away._

 _"_ _Yeah, he gets shy when he meets new people." Emily smiled and stepped aside "Come in." Elle walked in the apartment and saw Hotch sitting on the couch, Jack was curled against him and they were watching a TV, "They're watching Avengers Assemble again." Emily said looking at the two of them in the couch._

 _"_ _Aaa okay I get it. Hey Hotch, Jack." Hotch and Jack raised their heads momentarily and said hi before they turned their attention back at the TV._

 _"_ _The episode is over in ten minutes, I suppose you want to talk to Aaron right?" Emily said while guiding her to the kitchen. An older woman was already there sitting on the table drinking a cup of tea._

 _"_ _Patty, this is Elle Greenaway, she works with Aaron and I in the FBI, Elle this is Patty, Aaron's mom."Elle smiled at the woman and took her hand in a tight handshake._

 _"_ _Nice to meet you dear, and who is that shy gentleman?" she asked looking at Gideon who was still hiding in his mother's hair._

 _"_ _Oh, that's my son Gideon, he tends to get a bit shy when he meets new people." She said sitting down and getting the boy away from her shoulder._

 _The three women sat and talked for about ten minutes before Aaron appeared in the kitchen, he was using the cane, something that surprised Elle a lot._

 _"_ _Hey, I'm glad to report that Jack is back in his room finishing his homework." He said smugly and sat down on the only empty chair. "Thank you and you're welcomed." Emily rolled her eyes and turned to fill her glass with orange juice again._

 _"_ _Smug aren't you?" Elle joked._

 _"_ _Well, I told them that if they let Jack and I watch the new episode then he'll go and do his homework without a hitch and they didn't believe me. I was right!"_

 _"_ _Wow, well I need to talk to you." She said, the smile on his face flattered a bit before answering to her._

 _"_ _Sure, let's go in the office." Emily walked closer "I can take care of Gideon if you'd like." Elle kissed the boy's head and passed him to Emily. He immediately started studying her face, and Elle turned and followed Hotch in the office. He was walking significantly slower than she remembered, but then again last she remembered his knee wasn't filled with fluid either._

 _"_ _Take a seat" he said softly, Elle walked to the other side of the dark oak desk. "You want to talk about Matt's offer don't you?" he asked her after he sat down on his leather chair._

 _"_ _How did you know that?" she asked shocked, sometimes the man's ability to know everything was driving her crazy._

 _"_ _Matt told me. So what are you thinking?" he asked._

 _"_ _I think I'm coming back, I'm here to ask you how you feel about working so close with me again. When I left things weren't the best and I wouldn't like that to influence how the BAU works" Hotch smiled and took her hand, "Water under the bridge Elle. Nothing changed for me, I still think you as a friend and I hope you can think of me the same way as well." He said smiling._

 _"_ _I do Hotch, I do."_

…Matt met him when she went back in the building to give him her answer…

 _Elle walked in the building, Gideon was sleeping in his stroller, as she walked through the entrance and into the elevator. She reached the sixth floor in silence, everyone was probably already home or on their way. Although she only cared about one man in the building and she knew for a fact that he was still in the building._

 _She pushed the stroller down the hallway leading to Cruz's office and knocked on the door._

 _"_ _Come in" the man from the other side answered, his voice was tired. She entered and noticed that the room was in much better stated than it was last time she was there. The blankets were picked up from the floor and the couch, his jacket and tie weren't hanging from chair._

 _"_ _Hey." She said softly and walked farther inside the room._

 _"_ _Oh, is that baby Greenaway?" he asked walking softly to the stroller._

…Dave had almost dragged Alex to meet his godson…

 _Elle opened the door to see an overexcited Dave standing there with Alex next to him. The woman looked as if she had just gotten out of the bed, wearing sweatpants and an oversize shirt._

 _"_ _Sorry for the hour but I couldn't help it, I wanted Alex to meet Gideon, is he awake?" Elle laughed and let them in._

 _Dave was really good with Gideon, she could see exactly why Jason wanted him to be the baby's godfather. Although she had to admit that his excitement level was a bit too high._

 _"_ _He dragged me from bed to meet his godson." Alex said with a flat expression on her face "I hope you have coffee."_

 _…_ Derek and Savannah visited with Penelope who demanded to be introduced to her new BAU baby…

 _She had just gotten off her daily call with Dave when she heard the doorbell. She placed the phone back on the counter and walked to the door opening it to reveal a hyperactive Penelope on the other side of the door with a smiling Savannah and a Derek who was carrying a dozen of bags and boxes._

 _"_ _Get me to my new BAU baby!" was the only thing she said._

… JJ, Will and Henry visited after Derek and Savannah had left with Henry asking her shyly if Gideon would like to be his cousin and play with him and Jack and Kai and Michael and Hank when he grew older…

 _Derek and Savannah had left just an hour ago, Penelope was still in Gideon's bedroom playing with the boy when Elle heard the doorbell. She excused herself and went to the door opening it to find JJ, Will and Henry standing there._

 _"_ _This is for Gideon." Henry said giving her a green wrapped box._

 _"_ _Thank you." Elle took the box and let the family in. the three of them walked in and into the living room._

 _"_ _I couldn't wait I wanted to meet him" JJ said apologetically._

 _"_ _It's okay, you don't have to apologize for wanting to meet your godson." She said smiling._

 _"_ _Aunt Elle, can I ask you something?" Henry said, Elle had stopped being surprised when one of the boys referred to her as aunt Elle. "Sure sweetheart, go ahead." She said kneeling down to his level._

 _"_ _Is Gideon going to be my cousin and play with me and Jack and Kai and Michael and Hank when he grows older?" Elle smiled widely to the kid in front of her._

 _"_ _Of course kiddo."_

…Kate met him just yesterday when she offered to babysit so she could get in a meeting with Matt and the director…

 _Elle was pacing up and down her new office rocking Gideon in her arms. "Hey boss." Kate said smiling. They had just been officially stated as the BAU Alpha two, Elle had to admit that her team was small but she liked it. Only herself, Kate and Alex, three people that was all, today though she had a meeting with Matt and the director to discuss about adding more people to the team and today was the day she didn't book a sitter._

 _"_ _I have a huge meeting with Matt and the director and I didn't book a sitter and I'm pretty sure, no matter how much Matt likes Gideon, that he'll be welcomed in that meeting." She said._

 _"_ _Well I can babysit for you. I don't have anything else to do."_

 _"_ _You are a lifesaver!"_

…Tara was the last to meet Gideon she did though was the one who he seemed to like the most; he liked her voice and the necklace she wore, for some reason…

 _Elle walked back in her office after the end of the meeting, Gideon was sleeping in Tara's arms, his little hand was wrapped around her necklace._

 _"_ _He couldn't sleep and apparently Tara is a baby whisperer." Kate said looking highly amused from her seat._

She liked having them all close again, in the last week they've been proven to be a great help. Greatest than she could even imagine.

Her phone beeped from the nightstand and took it in her hand looking at the text message she got from Dave " _9 p.m. my place get Gideon too."_

 **XXXX**

Derek was in the kitchen making breakfast, everything had changed so rapidly in the past week, he wasn't complaining though. Last night he had a talk with Savannah about what to do from now and on. He wanted to return to the BAU at some point but he wasn't willing to leave Hank yet, he wanted to witness the " _first",_ first steps, first words, in the end they had decided that he was going to go back after Hank's fifth birthday full time because Matt, that little devil, had offered him a part time consultant's position, he would do some teaching at the academy, consult in cases mostly from Quantico, minimum to no traveling and a pretty 9 to 5 schedule. According to Savannah, if he didn't take the job then she will either shoot him with his gun or accept the job herself. That was pretty much a no brainer in the end.

"Hmm, something smells delicious!" he turned and saw his wife standing at the doorframe, she wore his old FBI t-shirt and a pair of shorts, her long hair were up in a loose bun, she looked as if she just came out of a dream.

"Pancakes my lady." Derek walked to her wrapping his left arm around her waist pulling her closer and kissing her.

What an amazing feeling of contentment was that he felt right now.

"Perfect, I'm starving!" she said with a smile on her face, "Then please my lady take a seat and I'll serve you right away." She laughed and walked to the table pulling out a chair to sit. "What time is your appointment?" he asked placing a plate in front of her "11 a.m. then we need to go buy the things Pen told us yesterday and drop them off for her to make the cake and the pie she is planning. What time do we need to be at Dave's" Derek looked up from his plate "9 p.m. he said to bring Hank too." she smiled and his whole world lightened up, what a wonderful feeling of happiness was the one he felt.

 **XXXX**

Life was too short to fight. That was Penelope's new motto as she woke up seeing Kevin sleeping next to her he was lying on the floor she was on her couch, last night they spent it talking, working out the kinks between them, all those things they had left unsaid last time and it shredded them, slowly piece by piece.

She got up slowly and walked to the bathroom trying not to wake Kevin up looking at herself in the mirror she looked at a happy content woman, she always wanted to say she was that, it was good that after everything that happened in the last year she finally was too.

Walking out of the bathroom after she finished her morning routine she saw Kevin sitting on the couch, "Morning." He turned his head and looked at her walking from the bathroom in her pink sweatpants and blue shirt, and he had to wonder how the heck did he gave her up? What was wrong with him? "Morning."

"I'm gonna make some breakfast you want some?" how was it possible one question to make everything fall into place?

 **XXXX**

Dave woke up to an empty bed, he looked around startled, he was convinced that he went to sleep with Hayden last night, where was she? He got up from the bed and went to get dressed, walking to the balcony door and watched the sobering scene going on below him, Joy was running playing with Kai around in the yard, he could see Shawn setting the table on the porch for breakfast. It was a beautiful moment, he loved it when his whole family was there, only if the team was as well. He felt good for the first time since he bought this house. When he did he didn't know why for the love of god he would buy suck a big house with so many rooms, three stories height, about ten bedrooms, what the heck was he thinking? Right now he has to admit that he was glad, hopefully one day soon the house would be full of his grandchildren and great grandchildren if he was lucky enough to see them.

"David!" he turned and saw Hayden standing at the door. "Good morning bella." He walked to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "I don't like waking up alone." He confessed.

"Well Kai wanted grandma's special pancakes. Who was I to refuse?" she said with a huge smile on her face.

"That's a perfect reason to leave the bed I have to admit."

 **XXXX**

Matt groaned as he rolled a little _too_ far in the bed, he woke up suddenly realizing he was on the floor, he looked around him at the blankets and the sheet tangled up around him. He heard a loud laugh from the door and raised his head to stare at Katie who was doubled over laughing. "Yeah laugh it off. How about to help me up?" he said after he tried to get up but failed.

"Seriously Matt this is the fifth time you fall off the bed. We have to do something." She said smiling as she helped him up the floor.

"Yeah buy a new goddamn bed! One that fits at least three people in it." She smiled at his comment and helped him pick up the blankets from the floor.

"What time do we have to be at Dave's" she asked when they dropped all the blankets on the bed.

"9p.m. but I have to go to the office for a while first." He said leaning in for a short kiss.

 **XXXX**

Kate looked around the bullpen, it was empty that was a first. The floor was clean the glass repaired, the desks in perfect condition. Everything looked like as if nothing changed, she knew it was wrong, everything, everything had changed since last time, she had a son now, she and Meg were back on the track, the teenager telling her everything, from school matters to boys matters, she and Chris were better than ever, she was back at the BAU which she loved, everything was truly amazing, but so, so different.

She had to admit though she didn't mind that. Different often was good. Different meant growing up, meant maturing, meant moving on with your life after tragedy.

And after the mess they had just got through they deserved to move on… although something was telling her that the storm wasn't over _just_ yet.

 **XXXX**

Walking in D.C. was the first thing she had missed in Boston, walking down the busy streets seeing the people walk her by the cars driving down the street it was a sobering moment, she loved D.C. so much, it was home, and although it was hard, harder than she'll admit, being away from James she liked it here, she liked it here more than she liked Boston, remembering all the horrible things that happened to the BAU in Boston didn't help either.

The morning breeze was refreshing, it was a great day, the sun had just gone up, she could still see the soft oranges and purples in the sky suck a beautiful sight.

Such beauty, what could go wrong with a beautiful sun rise as such?

 **XXXX**

He slept in, it wasn't something he did often, if he was being honest with himself it was something he wasn't doing at all, but he did today, he slept in turning around to check the time he saw that it was already 10 a.m. he had no idea when was the last time he had slept in that late, probably never. He got up and went to the kitchen start the coffee and purr himself a generous portion. He noticed his phone vibrating on the coffee table and walked lazily there, it was a text message from JJ, he smiled at the text, and replayed fastly, before going to get dressed.

He would have never guessed but he loved lazy days…

 **XXXX**

JJ woke up feeling Will place a soft kiss on her forehead. "Mmhmm." She murmured in her pillow.

"Sorry for walking you sweetheart, I'm off to work, I'll take Henry to school, go back to sleep." He whispered in her hair and he kissed the back of her head softly.

"Love you." JJ whispered in the pillow, making Will's smile widen even more, "I love you too sweetheart."

The second time JJ opened her eyes was almost 9.30 a.m. she looked around the house was quite, Michael probably still asleep, having finally started sleeping full nights. She got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom standing in front of the mirror, she liked what she saw, the woman on the other side of the mirror was relaxed, she was fresh and energetic. She liked the face staring back, maybe she should catch more sleep wherever she can.

Getting out of the bathroom she walked to the nursery seeing Michael still sleeping continuing to the living room taking her cell phone and wondering whether she should or not call Matt to check in on the BAU. In the end she decided to text Spence, coffee and breakfast with her best friend was something that she hadn't done in a really long time.

 **XXXX**

Tara Lewis was a woman who was happy with the little things; she loved the feel of the air on her face, the thrill of putting a criminal behind bars, the scent of an old well kept rare bottle of wine, the feel of the raindrops falling onto her head down her face and arms. She enjoys the little things, the hug of a friend, the coffee Dave brings to her or the beagle Reid will get from the bakery next to his apartment every other day.

She was happy with the little things, she still is if someone would ask, but she wasn't sure if the little things were enough for the long run any longer. Sharing her life between two departments, two lives basically.

She stopped running and walked slowly to the bench on her left sitting down overlooking the Potomac, her life was almost spiraling out of control a few days back and now she is trying to pull it back together… she isn't sure she can do that yet, she needs to talk to the others, Dave, Reid, J.J., Hotch… she needs to talk to them before she chooses where to align herself for good.

She guesses that's just another conversation that will be addressed in tonight's dinner.

 **XXXX**

9p.m. came sooner than anyone had expected, they had all gathered in Dave's house just on time, it was the first time they met Hayden without the whole gloom of the past weeks over them. Emily and Tara managed to make small talk with the woman in extreme ease in French causing Dave and Hotch stare at them in confusion.

"What are they saying?" Dave asked while standing at the grill, flipping the burgers.

"I have no freaking clue!" Hotch said, he was sitting on the chair next to the grill trying not to put much weight on his knee, "How is it for you? You're healing alright?" Dave asked, he turned to the younger man with the spatula in his hand.

"I've been following the doctor's instructions to a t." Hotch answered smugly raising his beer to his lips and taking a sip.

"Good my friend, how about things with Emily, how are you two adjusting to living together again?" Dave turned to his burger

"We've successfully navigated through our first fight as adults, we took some time thought it over and then I called and apologized." Hotch could see the smile on Dave's lips forming although to his credit the older man had tried to hide it.

"You my friend keep this up and you're never getting another divorce."

"I plan on it."

Emily was helping J.J. put the finishing touches on the table while Penelope and Joy were bringing the plates and the glasses out.

"Is it weird for you too?" JJ asked looking at Emily placing the crystal glasses on the table "What's weird?" she asked, looking up from the task at hands.

"Not working, I mean you run the London INTERPOL office for four years and now you are just sitting at home, doing nothing. I mean I wake up at home with Michael, Will already gone to work, Henry to school and all I have to do is wait around, cook dinner and do the groceries. It's… it's not bad, I'm not complaining I like the extra rest I'm getting but it feels…"

"Like someone else's life?" Emily finished her sentence with a knowing smile on her lips.

"So you do understand."

"Well for me it's slightly easier, Aaron is at home too, I drive Jack to school because he isn't cleared to drive yet, we're looking for a house at the same time, Aaron's mom was here, she just left so I didn't have the time to feel like I'm living someone else's life yet. I guess I will if the stand-down goes on longer." Emily turned her head to the grill where Aaron, Will, Dave and Shawn were sitting together laughing about something that Dave had said. "So far I'm content with that." She said showing the picture on their left. "Seeing them all happy, hearing the boys play in the tree house. Knowing that everyone is alright is enough for me… for now. One day will come that being a housewife won't be enough and I'll start picking a fight with Aaron over the smallest things, and he'll be frustrated that he has nothing else to do other than sit around in the house. I guess you can say… so far so good." Emily smiled at her friend.

"Well the potatoes are ready I'm taking them out of the over in few minutes can you see if the boys have finished the stakes and the burgers?" the two women rose their head to see Hayden, she had walked out of the house, a big smile on her face. "Of course, I'll go." Emily said and turned to walk to the group of men in the corner.

"Dave is a good man." Hayden turned her head to JJ when she heard the woman speak "I'm sorry?"

"I said that Dave is a good man, and he deserves to be happy, life had been unfair to him all those past years. He seems happy with you, I like that. I guess what I want to say is… welcome to the family." JJ smiled and hugged lightly the older woman, letting her stand on the same spot in a state of shock for a few minutes before she turned and walked back into the house.

"Well, boys did you finally finished up here?" Emily walked to the guys and leaned on Aaron's chair smiling widely, Aaron wrapped his arm loosely around her waist pulling her closer to him "Dave's been trying to teach Shawn how to flip the burgers _'correctly'_ he fails." Emily smiled at his comment.

"Well boys the answer? Hayden needs to know." Dave turned at her waving the spatula to her "We'll be ready when we're ready woman!"

Aaron chuckled "You my friend are on the fast track for your fourth divorce if you keep it up."

They all sat down on the table after putting the kids to sleep on their bedroom, Jack and Henry squealed at the surprise Dave had for them since he redecorated a whole room with an en suite bathroom, for the three of them with high beds and desks. They were relaxed laughing and joking, having good time.

"Alright Aaron and I have something to tell you all." Dave got a mischievous look on his face, knowing what Emily was going to tell them.

"Please be good news I had a crappy day so far." Matt said groaning as he remembered the day he had.

"Well Emily and I are… we're going to…" he looks at Emily

"We're having a baby." She said smiling widely, Aaron's smile matched Emily's while the shock set in their faces, followed by the overwhelming smiles of happiness.

"Now these are good news." Matt said smiling "To the Hotchners who in few months time will grow their family some more!" he continued raising his glass.

The unusual family was sitting all together in the table, Emily and Hotch's news had significally lifted their spirits.

"Oh I know I know what we should so!" Penelope said happily, she had already drank two glasses of wine and they started to have an effect on her. "We should play a game! We'll get to know each other better that way." Elle lowered her glass slowly looking around the table "Like what?"

"Like… truth or dare!" everyone on the table but Kate and JJ groaned at the idea. "This is a horrible idea Penelope!" Alex said trying not to sound too harsh to the already intoxicated technical analyst.

"But it's gonna be fun!"

"Alright fine let's do it." Hotch said finally caving in to the puppy dog eyes Penelope was sporting.

"Yey! Okay the rules are simple, you either chose Truth or Dare, no changing, if you chose truth you have to answer truthfully, if you chose Dare but won't pull it through then you'll have to pay the prize, which will be simple, strip to your underwear for the rest of the game." She had a huge smile on her face for the whole time, "God woman you are salvage!" Derek said taking another sip from his beer.

"So let's start!" she said and Spencer started to complain about not joining in, although his protests were fastly ignored.

"So…" Penelope looked around wondering who would be her first victim "My chocolate stud muffin truth or dare?" she asked with a huge mischievous smile on her face.

"Dare mama. You know me!"

"Well… I dare you to let me and JJ put make up on you and you have to let it on for the whole game!" she said in triumph, JJ had a glint in her eyes that almost scared Morgan who to his credit nodded and sat back. JJ and Penelope went to work immediately and in less than ten minutes Morgan was sporting bright blue eye shadow with matching mascara and bright neon pink lipstick.

"Is it my turn?" Morgan asked as soon as the two women sat down in their chairs again. "Sure Stud muffin." Penelope said, "Good, JJ truth or dare?" JJ put down her wine glass and looked at Morgan in the eyes trying to figure out if truth or dare was going to be the most harmless way to go. "I guess I'll go with truth." She said smiling, the smile on Morgan's face though scared her, "JJ do you or don't you have one of Hotch's shirts and if you do why, when and how you got it." JJ's mouth fell to the floor, "You did not!" she gasped, the rest of the table the looks on their faces varied Elle, Reid and Hotch had a frightened look on their faces while the rest have a look of question mixed with amusement. "Oh I did darling, as history have taught this team what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas. So spill." He said.

"It's truth, we were in Vegas, in January 2006, we got late in the hotel and they had given our rooms away, there was only one room and in Caesar's Palace, one of the suits, it was a huge thing, two bedrooms and a big living room, so Gideon and Spence were going to share one room while me and Elle would take the other room and Morgan with Hotch would sleep on the couches. Thing is when we did get to the room, we couldn't sleep so we decided to just get a couple of drinks. We had a couple of them and Morgan suggested we should play strip poker. At some point the only ones with clothes on were Hotch and Spence, the rest of us were in underwear, that was the line if you were down to your underwear you'd lose, so Hotch is in this shirt and pants and loses the hand, but before he could take it off on his own my vodka filled brain thought it was a good idea to rip it off of him and I did, Elle and I later drew on it with glitter glue and I still have it in a paper bag in the back of my closet… it smells like alcohol and regret by the way."

"No way!" Emily said looking from Hotch to JJ and back, "Really?"

"Yes really that's why I am complaining about not travelling with you guys, you get crazy in other towns. Every time I'm with you things are so bad that you never want to go out and get drunk with me or something." Hotch was biting his lower lip trying to stop himself from laughing.

"Well, my turn" JJ stopped Garcia's rumblings, trying to get this game over with, "Elle truth or dare."

"You guys are dangerous no matter what I'll chose, Truth." She said, "Be careful what you'll ask Jareau."

"Is it true that you have painted members of this team while they were passed out or not? If yes tell us who, when, where and why." Elle gasped and Emily was especially intrigued to see Aaron cower down in his chair.

"Oh Jareau you will pay for that! It's true, it was in Vegas, the same time JJ ripped Hotch's shirt off, so when 2006, where Vegas, why I was drunk, who Hotch." She took a drink from her wine glass leaning back at her chair. "Oh come on!" Emily cried "I need to know the story!" Hotch's face from next to her was one of pure despair.

"Seriously? Hotch your wife is crazy!" Elle said looking at Hotch with her eyes wide.

"She's also pregnant so spill, and after I can help you dig both our graves."

"We got drunk, after the strip poker, and Hotch passed out on the floor, Penelope had got me some kind of glitter markers and we ALL drew things on Hotch. I specifically had written the lyrics of the friends' theme song. Spencer had written the oath we swore, JJ some Disney songs and I think Morgan drew I think all of us in stick figures."

"By the way that shit wouldn't leave even after I took three showers. Hayley screamed out like crazy when she saw me, before she started laughing. I slept on the couch for a week, till they were completely gone because she would start laughing every time she would see me, thanks a lot." He said sarcastically.

"Sorry" JJ said, but her face was anything but sorry.

"Alright, shut it!" Elle said stopping them "Callahan, truth or dare."

"You guys are freaking crazy, dare."

"Ah come on I had the perfect question for you. Anyway, I dare you to eat a spoonful of Penelope's guacamole." Elle said showing the bawl with the guacamole in the middle of the table which for some reason came off especially hot this time and no one managed to eat much of it.

"Oh I really hate you boss." She said, Kate took the spoon with the guacamole and brought it closer to her mouth slowly, "If I suddenly ignite please tell my family I loved them." She said before eating the whole thing. Everyone on the table looked at her for few minutes before she started feeling the burning sensation from the guacamole.

"Quick get some bread or potatoes." Dave said pushing both in front of her. Kate started quickly eating the potatoes in front of her hoping to mild the burning in her tongue and throat.

"I really hate you." She said as soon as she was able to talk.

"Sorry, you should have picked truth." Elle said smiling, "Whatever, Alex, truth or dare."

"Well, I think I'd like to take truth, seeing what happened in the last two dares" she said mentioning at the slightly red Kate, and Morgan who's pink lipstick still stayed even though he had drank and ate since it was applied.

"Well, what you thought of the team first time you met them." Kate asked Alex who leaned back in her chair trying to remember.

"Alright, I don't exactly remember but… well first person I saw was Hotch, who at the time looked as if someone kicked his puppy, so I thought he must have not been in good mood. Then I met Dave, whom I thought was immature, by the way I found him playing Pro evolution in his office, yelling at the TV in Italian. Then I met JJ, whom I thought was the most normal, till we flew to Seattle and I heard her singing in the bathroom 'I'll make a man out of you' and then on the way back she started dancing to 'If you're ready come and get it' in the middle of the plane. After I met Spencer, who I thought was sweet and shy, and last I met Penelope and Derek, Derek I thought was normal till I saw him drinking after the case in Kentucky and I was really scared by the amount he managed to consume without passing out and Penelope who I thought she was some sort of overprotective mother hen, till I realized in reality she is the baby of the family." Penelope smiled widely at Alex and threw her arms around the older woman, "I love you too." she said loudly, before kissing her on the cheek and returning back to her chair.

"Alright, Rossi, truth or dare."

"Oh why thank you my dear Mrs. Blake, I'll take a truth."

"Oh boy, when was the last time you lied and what was the lie you said. And remember Rossi I'm letting you go off easy." She said taking her wine glass in her hand.

"It was a week ago or so when I called Hotch and told him I was sick when in fact I was just fine, but Hayden was going to leave the next day for San Francisco and I wanted to spend the day at home." Dave said smugly, "I knew it. I just let you get away with it because I was planning on doing the exact same thing when Emily was going to come back."

"How the heck did you know that?" Dave asked starring at the grin on his friend's face.

"Because you didn't sound sick or even tired, and I did hear a woman's voice, in the back. Next time maybe you should pretend to be a little bit sick if you're calling in sick."

Dave rolled his eyes at Aaron's comment "Fine, Shawn! Truth or dare?" Dave saw his son in law pale at the question, "What? Everyone in the table plays." Dave explained.

"Alright I guess I'll take truth. It can't be that bad." Shawn whispered the last part looking at Joy who had an amused smile on her face.

"When was the last time _you_ lied kid." Dave was starring at the younger man in the eyes while he was frowning trying to remember when the last time he did lie was.

"A couple weeks ago, when I told Kai that you were just fine on the way to the airport, although he had no fricking clue if you were or not." Shawn said, Dave's smug smile fell while the rest on the table started looking down, trying to forget the mess that was the last two weeks of their lives.

"Alright, sorry for that." Dave apologized; he knew how much Shawn despised lying to Kai even for the smallest things. Firmly believing that it's better for the kids to know the truth, rather having to find out the truth at some point of their lives and having to struggle with the consequences of it…

"Anyway, it's not a big deal, in the end I was right." Shawn smiled trying to forget the last two weeks as well. "Joy, truth or dear." His wife smiled and thought over what she should pick. "Well let's say truth, but I want to remind you that, both my parents are here, and one of them carries a gun, so be careful what you'll ask." She warned him.

"Fine! Do you have any tattoos? If yes, how many, what and where." He finished his question and looked at her with a sweet smile on his face.

"I have one, it's on my hip and it's a mermaid sitting on a rock in front of a waterfall." Joy said, she looked at her husband, a look that said thanks on her face, he smiled back at her and gripped her hand under the table, they both knew that there were far worst question he could have asked, thankfully he asked one of the best. "Mom, your turn, truth or dare."

"Truth." Hayden asked, she knew her daughter and the last thing she needed was to have her give her a dare.

"How long are you and dad back together." Joy asked smugly, Dave cursed under his breath, the kid was starting to pick on all of his bad habits one after the other.

"Three months, since Kai's birthday." She answered the question calmly and Joy turned to her father who nodded his head confirming the answer, "And now it's my turn." She said quickly before her daughter had a chance to ask anything else.

"Tara, truth or dare?"

"Oh this is turning so cliché, truth."

"Well, which was the craziest moment with the team?"

"Oh well this is easy; after I met Emily, we got to eat Mexican and we all had gotten a few drinks too many and everyone started picking on Hotch about the whole let's get married in Vegas so much that he started blushing, and then he got back starting to pick on Dave about his Vegas wedding and JJ about her last minute surprise wedding. In the end I have to say that I heard things about my teammates that I never wanted to hear, such as that Hotch and Emily are loud during sex, which by the way if it's true I do not want to be in a room close by!"

Emily and Aaron turned to each other in complete shock, "Were we that drunk that night?" she whispered in his ear, "I don't know sweetheart, probably, because I don't remember that."

"Savannah truth or dare."

"I never thought I'd say it but I choose truth, you guys are not safe to choose dares." She said remembering the last time they played truth and dare when they almost got arrested.

"Alright, when was the last time you had sex." Tara asked keeping her voice straight as if she was asking about the weather.

"WHAT?" Derek yelled, "No, no, no!"

"Before Hank was born." Savannah answered causing Derek's eyes to widen even further. "What? It's not like it's a secret that for at least two months after birth you can't have sex, you are not the first not the last. Katie, truth or dare?" as soon as Savannah asked though before Katie could answer Matt, Penelope, Hotch and Elle's phones started ringing, Aaron was the first to look at the screen, the smile on his face fell immediately, Matt seeing the look on his friend's face opened his own phone starring at the almost identical message he got, he turned and looked at Elle who was starring at her phone, her eyes open wide. Everyone in the table felt the change in the air, everyone felt the happiness and carefree feeling they had few minutes back disappear into thin air.

"Maybe we should take this inside." Dave told them, his voice not taking no for an answer, everyone got up from the table and picked up as many from the plates as they could in their hands walking inside the house not bothering to pick up the table, chairs, and other things.

They walked inside the house, leaving all the things they carried in the kitchen, Dave was walking around closing and locking all doors and windows.

"Aaron what's going on?" Emily said as soon as Dave closed the patio door

"There have been nine more prison breaks 22 serial killers have escaped. The DOJ wants us back in the BAU immediately." His voice as cold, he really was looking forward to the time off and frankly he wasn't that ready to go back working for the FBI just yet.

"I can tell them that you can't come back yet" Matt offered. Hotch was touched by his offer

"No, it's our job. We're going to do it. Together?" he asked looking around the others there.

"Together!" Elle confirmed.

"If we're doing this no one is staying alone, last time a psychopath with a grunge against one of us was on the lose things went south real fast real hard. That's not something I want to relive any time soon. Till this is over all of your asses are staying here," Dave's voice just told them that this wasn't up to discussion.

 **A/N: This is the end of** ** _"A Storm just Came"_** **I want to thank you all who supported this story, my first multi-chaptered story. The sequel will be coming soon; it's called** ** _365 Days_** **and follows their lives for the next year while living in Casa Rossi as well as having the whole conspiracy solved.**

 **Instead of a sneak peak I'll give you some of the criminals that will appear (who else would you like to see?)…**

 _Peter Lewis "Mr. Scratch"_

 _Thomas Yates "The Womb Raider"_

 _Vincent Perotta_

 _Jeremy Sayer_

 _Brian Cochran_


	15. Author's Note

**Hello everyone I've just posted the first chapter of the sequel, it's called "365 Days" please check it out, it's a lot darker, and we're going to be dealing with darker things like attempted suicide, depression, self harm and some substance abuse. Hopefully you'll check it out and let me know what you are thinking, I wasn't really comfortable with such a dark fic at first but as I started writing it's where the story took me.**

 **I want to thank you all for your reviews for taking the time to review, to every single one who favorite this story and put it on their alert list to keep track of the progress. You all make this experience so great.**

 **THANK YOU!**


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